{"title":"Prevalence of Malaria and COVID-19 Infection in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria.","authors":"Adepeju Iyabo Simon-Oke, Oluwaseun Bunmi Awosolu, Olatunji Odeyemi","doi":"10.1155/2023/9529563","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The prevalence of malaria and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is highly devastating and has led to a serious public health challenge worldwide. In order to ensure proper control and elimination, the State Ministry of Health (MoH) Ondo State, Nigeria conducted medical examinations in Iju/Itaogbolu, Igoba, and Ogbese Health centers to identify and confirm cases of COVID-19 and malaria infection. This study provides the outcome of the epidemiological investigation of the prevalence of COVID-19 and malaria in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria.</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>The study was a hospital-based secondary data analysis comprising of 11,389 and 682 individuals who visited various health centers in Akure North Local Government Area (LGA) for medical examinations on malaria and COVID-19, respectively. The COVID-19 cases were investigated using the fluid sample collected with a nasal swab or a throat swab, or spit of saliva into a tube and confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2) RDT was employed to detect the <i>P.falciparum</i> antigen among participants' blood samples.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The total prevalence of malaria and COVID-19 were 67.6% and 12.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, the month of September recorded the highest malaria prevalence of 81.8% while the month of April recorded the least malaria prevalence of 56.4%. Similarly, the highest case of COVID-19 (18.8%) was recorded in the month of November while the least case (2.4%) was recorded in the month of April (<i>p</i> < 0.05). The age range of 12-59 months had the highest malaria prevalence of 74.9% while 0-24 days age range recorded the least prevalence of 15.2% (<i>p</i> > 0.05). Apparently, the children were more infected with malaria parasites while adults were more infected with COVID-19.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Conclusively, malaria and COVID-19 infections were prevalent in the study area. Thus, the people should be enlightened on the deadly risk of malaria and COVID-19 through the health workers, social media, and the community leaders to ensure compliance with appropriate preventive measures.</p>","PeriodicalId":16662,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Parasitology Research","volume":"2023 ","pages":"9529563"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9836811/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Parasitology Research","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/9529563","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PARASITOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: The prevalence of malaria and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is highly devastating and has led to a serious public health challenge worldwide. In order to ensure proper control and elimination, the State Ministry of Health (MoH) Ondo State, Nigeria conducted medical examinations in Iju/Itaogbolu, Igoba, and Ogbese Health centers to identify and confirm cases of COVID-19 and malaria infection. This study provides the outcome of the epidemiological investigation of the prevalence of COVID-19 and malaria in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria.
Method: The study was a hospital-based secondary data analysis comprising of 11,389 and 682 individuals who visited various health centers in Akure North Local Government Area (LGA) for medical examinations on malaria and COVID-19, respectively. The COVID-19 cases were investigated using the fluid sample collected with a nasal swab or a throat swab, or spit of saliva into a tube and confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2) RDT was employed to detect the P.falciparum antigen among participants' blood samples.
Results: The total prevalence of malaria and COVID-19 were 67.6% and 12.4%, respectively. Meanwhile, the month of September recorded the highest malaria prevalence of 81.8% while the month of April recorded the least malaria prevalence of 56.4%. Similarly, the highest case of COVID-19 (18.8%) was recorded in the month of November while the least case (2.4%) was recorded in the month of April (p < 0.05). The age range of 12-59 months had the highest malaria prevalence of 74.9% while 0-24 days age range recorded the least prevalence of 15.2% (p > 0.05). Apparently, the children were more infected with malaria parasites while adults were more infected with COVID-19.
Conclusion: Conclusively, malaria and COVID-19 infections were prevalent in the study area. Thus, the people should be enlightened on the deadly risk of malaria and COVID-19 through the health workers, social media, and the community leaders to ensure compliance with appropriate preventive measures.
期刊介绍：
Journal of Parasitology Research is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal that publishes original research articles, review articles, and clinical studies in all areas of basic and applied parasitology. Articles covering host-parasite relationships and parasitic diseases will be considered, as well as studies on disease vectors. Articles highlighting social and economic issues around the impact of parasites are also encouraged. As an international, Open Access publication, Journal of Parasitology Research aims to foster learning and collaboration between countries and communities.
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