Olasehinde, G. I
(2010)
PREVALENCE AND MANAGEMENT OF FALCIPARIUM MALARIA AMONG
INFANTS AND CHILDREN IN OTA, OGUN STATE, SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA.
AFRICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, 11 (3).
pp. 159-163.
ISSN 1595-689X
Abstract
Studies were carried out to determine the prevalence of malaria parasite infection among infants and
children (0-12yrs) in Ota, Southwestern Nigeria between April and December 2008. The two hospitals
used were Ota General Hospital and Covenant University Health Centre, Canaanland, Ota. Thick and
thin films were made and stained using standard parasitological procedures. Structured Questionnaires
were distributed to ascertain the age, sex, drugs or insecticides used and state of health of the subjects
before recruiting them into the study.
Overall, 215 (80.5%) of the 267 children investigated were found to have malaria infection. Age group (0-5
years) had the highest frequency rate of 84.7% with mean parasite density of 900 and the difference
between the age groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). Children of illiterates from suburb villages
had the highest mean parasite density of 850 with 78.1% prevalence rate. 20% of the children were given
local herbs and 22% used orthodox medicine as prophylaxis. Only 18% used insecticide treated mosquito
nets while 24% of the parents spray insecticides to prevent mosquito bites.
There is therefore need for more awareness on effective use of drugs and Insecticide Treated bed nets in
malaria hyperendemic regions.
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