Abstract:
Background
Ethiopia is among sub-Saharan African countries with a high number of malaria cases each
year, with most of the landmass favoring the breeding of the vectors. There have been
extensive efforts to control and prevent the transmission of malaria, which is part of the
country’s prevention-based health policy.
Objective
This study aimed to determine malaria prevalence and associated risk factors among
patients visiting Mizan-Tepi University Teaching Hospital (MTUTH).
Materials and methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2021 among patients
visiting MTUTH, Southwest Ethiopia. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect
sociodemographic data, and a capillary blood sample was collected after obtaining written
informed consent from the study participants. The data were entered into Epi-data
manager (v4.0.2.101) and analyzed with SPSS version 25.0, with a P-value of < 0.05 set as
a significance.
Results
A total of 439 patients participated, of which 20.7% (91) were positive for malaria parasites,
with a higher prevalence observed among the age group interval of 25–34 years (5.5%).
Inadequate access to insecticide-treated bed net (ITN) 23.9% (105) and a low level of ITN
usage 20.5% (90) were recorded. Patients living in areas of stagnant water were more likely
to get infected with the malaria parasite (AOR = 16.191, 95% CI: 9.137, 28.692) compared
to those who live away from stagnant water, and individuals living in houses not sprayed
with insecticides were more susceptible to malaria infection (AOR = 0.215, 95% CI: 0.128,
0.360).
Conclusion
The overall malaria prevalence in this study was 20.7% (91), which proves that malaria
remains a major threat to the communities in the study area, with Plasmodium falciparum
contributing to most of the cases. Improving the habits of ITN usage and indoor residual
Spray through health education may help to reduce the impact of malaria in the study area.
