Relationship between Prevalence of Malaria Case and Malaria Risk Factors in Sokoto, North Western Nigeria

It is estimated that over 500 million people suffer from malaria infections annually, resulting in about 1-2 million deaths, of whom 90% are children in sub- Saharan Africa (Curing malaria together, 2008). Hence the research to determine the relationship between prevalence of malaria case and malaria risk factor in Sokoto, North Western Nigeria. A cross-sectional form of descriptive survey research design was used for this study. This is because descriptive studies are used when the characteristics of a population are either unknown or partially known (Hennekens and Buring, 2007) and because it examines the relationship between disease (or other health related state and other variable of interest as they exist (risk factors) as well as access the burden of malaria in this population of study. Structured interview guide was administered and Malaria was diagnosed microscopically by staining thick and thin blood films on a glass slide, to visualize malaria parasites.. The number of malaria cases in this seems to be increasing, due to increasing transmission risk in areas where malaria control has declined, the increasing prevalence of drug resistant strains of parasites, this study shows that between 0-17 year 48 tested positive (96%) with mean parasiteamia of 16000 parasite per μl blood, while between 18 and above years 21(70%) tested positive too malaria with mean parasiteamia of 3200parasite per μl blood. The malaria prevalence rate of 86.3%. The result from this study showed that poor behavior against malaria disease has promoted the increase of the disease in this area.

Keywords: Malaria parasite, Parasiteamia, Behavior/risk factor, Prevalence rate, Malaria resistance, Nigeria.