{"title":"Covering water containers is a strong preventive measure for the reduction of asymptomatic malaria towards the end of the rainy season.","authors":"Chibuike Okpala, Ifeoma Umeh, Linda Onyeka Anagu","doi":"10.12688/openresafrica.15809.1","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Asymptomatic malaria is responsible for persistent malaria transmission. Anambra State has the second lowest prevalence of malaria in under 5s residing in Nigeria. The sustained transmission of malaria threatens to reverse this decline, as indicated by the increased number of severe malaria cases during the rainy transmission season. We ascertained the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria using the malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test (mRDT) at the end of the rainy season and the determinants of asymptomatic malaria.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the end of the rainy season in November 2024 among 130 consenting apparently healthy adults aged 18 years and above residing in the Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State using a standardized self-administered questionnaire and a <i>P. falciparum</i> mRDT. The questionnaire sought information on the participants' sociodemographics, socioeconomic factors, malaria healthcare-seeking behavior, use of malaria prevention measures, environmental conditions, and perceptions of malaria risk. A fingerprick was used for the mRDT kit. Data were analyzed using Stata 17/BE. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with asymptomatic malaria.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of the 130 participants, 26.15% (34/130) were confirmed to be infected with <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i>. There was an overreliance on personal feelings for malaria diagnosis. Covering water containers around a house was an effective protective measure against asymptomatic malaria. The odds (odds ratio (OR): 0.29/0.27, 95% (CI): 0.07/0.06 - 1.24) of having asymptomatic malaria were lower in those that agree that 'the cost of malaria prevention tools, such as Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), insecticides and mosquito repellents, is reasonable' compared to those that did not.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The prevalence of asymptomatic malaria among semi-immune adult participants residing in the Nnewi North Local Government Area (LGA) was 26.15%. Covering water containers is a reliable measure to reduce malaria transmission.</p>","PeriodicalId":74358,"journal":{"name":"Open research Africa","volume":"8 ","pages":"5"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12375191/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Open research Africa","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.12688/openresafrica.15809.1","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Asymptomatic malaria is responsible for persistent malaria transmission. Anambra State has the second lowest prevalence of malaria in under 5s residing in Nigeria. The sustained transmission of malaria threatens to reverse this decline, as indicated by the increased number of severe malaria cases during the rainy transmission season. We ascertained the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria using the malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test (mRDT) at the end of the rainy season and the determinants of asymptomatic malaria.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted at the end of the rainy season in November 2024 among 130 consenting apparently healthy adults aged 18 years and above residing in the Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State using a standardized self-administered questionnaire and a P. falciparum mRDT. The questionnaire sought information on the participants' sociodemographics, socioeconomic factors, malaria healthcare-seeking behavior, use of malaria prevention measures, environmental conditions, and perceptions of malaria risk. A fingerprick was used for the mRDT kit. Data were analyzed using Stata 17/BE. Binary logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with asymptomatic malaria.
Results: Of the 130 participants, 26.15% (34/130) were confirmed to be infected with Plasmodium falciparum. There was an overreliance on personal feelings for malaria diagnosis. Covering water containers around a house was an effective protective measure against asymptomatic malaria. The odds (odds ratio (OR): 0.29/0.27, 95% (CI): 0.07/0.06 - 1.24) of having asymptomatic malaria were lower in those that agree that 'the cost of malaria prevention tools, such as Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), insecticides and mosquito repellents, is reasonable' compared to those that did not.
Conclusion: The prevalence of asymptomatic malaria among semi-immune adult participants residing in the Nnewi North Local Government Area (LGA) was 26.15%. Covering water containers is a reliable measure to reduce malaria transmission.
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