Malaria prevalence in north-eastern Nigeria:A cross-sectional study Houben CH1,Fleischmann H2,Gǜckel M3

Objective:To assess the prevalence of malaria parasitemia in north-east Nigeria and to evaluate the measures for the prevention of malaria.Methods:A village in north-eastern Nigeria was selected for the cross sectional study at the height of the rainy season in October 2011.A total of 550 inhabitants of a hamlet were recruited for this study.After obtaining the consent individuals received a structured interview and were tested for malaria parasites in their blood films.Recruits testing positive for malaria were given a course of artemesinin-based combination therapy（ACT）.Results:A total of 497 inhabitants representing approximately 90 percent of the population participated:a quarter of the study group carried malaria parasitesexclusively Plasmodium falciparum（P.falciparum）-representing a P.falciparum parasite rate（PfPR） of 24.5%.Besides,53/138 in the age group of 2 to < 10 years old children tested positive for P.falciparum representing a PfPR2-10 value of 38.4%.Malaria control measures were used in just under a third（157/497） of this cohort.Despite these measures 28/157（17.8%） still tested positive for P.falciparum.Conclusions:The malaria burden is overestimated for this region in north-east Nigeria.The findings support an intermediate pattern of malaria endemicity.The 30%bed nets coverage for malaria control is well below the WHO estimates for 2011.