Malaria Prevalence and Risk Factors Among Patients Visiting Mizan Tepi University Teaching Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia

Background: Ethiopia is among sub-Saharan African countries with a high number of malaria cases each year, with most of the landmass favoring the breeding of the vectors. There have been extensive efforts to control and prevent the transmission of malaria, which is part of the country's prevention-based health policy.

Objective: This study aimed to determine malaria prevalence and associated risk factors among patients visiting Mizan-Tepi University Teaching Hospital (MTUTH).

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2021 among patients visiting MTUTH, Southwest Ethiopia. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data, and a capillary blood sample was collected after obtaining written informed consent from the study participants. The data were entered into Epi-data manager (v4.0.2.101) and analyzed with SPSS version 25.0, with a P-value of < 0.05 set as a significance.

Results: A total of 439 patients participated, of which 20.7% (91) were positive for malaria parasites, with a higher prevalence observed among the age group interval of 25-34 years (5.5%). Inadequate access to insecticide-treated bed net (ITN) 23.9% (105) and a low level of ITN usage 20.5% (90) were recorded. Patients living in areas of stagnant water were more likely to get infected with the malaria parasite (AOR = 16.191, 95% CI: 9.137, 28.692) compared to those who live away from stagnant water, and individuals living in houses not sprayed with insecticides were more susceptible to malaria infection (AOR = 0.215, 95% CI: 0.128, 0.360).

Conclusion: The overall malaria prevalence in this study was 20.7% (91), which proves that malaria remains a major threat to the communities in the study area, with Plasmodium falciparum contributing to most of the cases. Improving the habits of ITN usage and indoor residual spray through health education may help to reduce the impact of malaria in the study area.