Prevalence of Malaria and Predisposing Factors to Antimalarial Drug Resistance in Southwestern Nigeria

High transmission rate and drug resistance have been implicated in the spread and re-emergence of malaria in areas where the disease had been eradicated. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of falciparum malaria and pre-disposing factors to malaria among patients presenting with fever in selected State Hospitals in Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria. Four thousand and sixty six patients were recruited into this study. Scientific and Ethical clearance was obtained for this study. Blood samples were collected for malaria screening from the subjects. Structured questionnaires were administered to patients and parents of infants to determine the factors that could lead to the development of drug resistance by the parasite in the study population. Out of 4066 subjects screened during the study period, 61.1% were positive for falciparum malaria. Highest prevalence of 70.8% was recorded in children 1-5 years, also the group with highest parasitemia (1080). The study showed that 24.6% of the patient visited hospitals for treatment, 12% use local healers while 25.0% bought antimalarial drugs without prescription. Moreover, some subjects use more than one method in their management of malaria. Those who combined antimalarial drugs with traditional medicine from local healers were 17.4%. Only 18% of the sample population used insecticide treated mosquito nets, 42.3% used window and door nets, while 13% did not employ any mosquito preventive method. Uncontrolled use of drugs and exposure of parasites to the drugs should be monitored in areas where the parasite is still sensitive to the drug.