TRENDS OF MALARIA MORBIDITY AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS IN SHALLA DISTRICT HEALTH CENTERS, WEST ARSI ZONE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Malaria is one of the major public health problems worldwide. In Ethiopia, more than 75% of the total area and 60% of the population are exposed to the disease. Despite the efforts made in prevention and control of malaria, it continues to be one of the major public health problems in the country including the study area.Hence, knowing trends andassociated factorsof malaria in the area is essential to design appropriate interventions against the disease. Objective:To assess Prevalence and Nine years Trend (2010-2018) in Shalla district health centers, west Arsi Zone, Ethiopia. Methods:Health center based cross sectional survey was done in the Shalla district, west Arsi zone from December 1 to December 30, 2019.Systematic sampling technique was used to select 1,599 study participants from total malaria suspected patients.Data wereretrieved by trained data collectors from the record of health centers and Meteorological Agency. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistical testsandbivariate and multivariate logistic regression models.Metrological data and trends were presented using line graphs.P-value less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The degree of associations and their statistical significance was reported using adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Results: A total of 47,324 suspected cases of malaria were reported at Shalla health centersfrom 2010 to 2018,of these, 6,349(13.41%) were microscopically confirmed malaria cases.male were 1.7 times more likely to be infected with malaria than female [AOR: 1.7, 95%CI (1.303-2.254), p value 0.000].The highest prevalence of malaria 40.77% was registered among the age group ≥15year old. There was higher percentage (57.44%) of Plasmodium vivax infection than Plasmodium falciparum30.52%).Thehighest malaria cases, was reported in autumn (September-November) in the study area. Despite there was fluctuation in yearly malaria prevalence, trend of malaria in the study district onwards 2010 was declined from 31.83% to 5.24% in 2018. Conclusions:Overall, trend of malaria over the Nine years showed declining. P.vivax was most predominant, and male were more infected than female. So, strong scaling up of the community should going on towards transmission, prevention and control activities of malaria in view of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum.