Prevalence And Factors Associated With Malaria Amongst Under-Five Children In Senga Hill District, Northern Province Zambia. A Community Based cross-sectional study

Abstract Introduction . Malaria is one of the major public health problems in developing countries like Zambia. Under-five year children are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria, accounting for 61% of all malaria deaths worldwide. Despite efforts to reduce the mortality and morbidity, the disease is still a prominent health problem in Senga Hill District. Knowledge of malaria prevalence and associated risk factors among under-five children in the district is insufficient. The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of malaria and associated risk factors amongst Under-Five Children in the District. Methods . Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among under-five children in Senga Hill District from November 2022 to August, 2023. A total of 216 under-five children were subjected to a Care Start TM Malaria Rapid diagnostic test which can detect histidine-rich protein 2 of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase of P. vivax was used to diagnose malaria. At the same time, a structured questionnaire was administered to the parents or guardians to collect data on hypothesised risk factors for the disease. Bivariate analysis and binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors associated with malaria. Results and Conclusion. The overall prevalence of malaria among the under-five children in the study district was 31.9%. Further analysis of the data indicated that correct use of Insecticide Treated Nets, those households that reported indoor residual spaying had been done within the past six-months and those that reported having a single mosquito net had significantly reduced odds of positive malaria cases in under-five children, than those than had not. Furthermore, male children had significantly higher odds of being malaria positive than females. These results show that the prevalence of malaria among the under-five children in Senga Hill was high. Thus, all concerned bodies, including the community should strengthen ownership and encourage correct use of ITNs and acceptance of IRS service acceptance to stop the transmission of the malaria.