Malaria Incidence and Associated Risk Factors in and Around Anger Gute Town, Western Ethiopia

Abstract Background: Malaria is one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa including Ethiopia. About 75% of the total area of the country is an area of malaria transmission and an estimated 68% of the Ethiopian population is at risk from malaria. Therfore, this study was aimed to evaluate local malaria incidence and associated risk factors in and around Anger Gute town, East Wollega Zone,Oromia Regional State, Western Ethiopia. Methods: Health-facility based cross-sectional study was carried out from June to December 2018. 462 malaria suspected patients attending three health posts and one health center were included in the study. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and laboratory diagnosis of malaria. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 20.0 for windows. Logistic regression was used to examine the effect of each independent variable on incidence of malaria. P values of less or equal to 0.05 were considered significant. Results : Of 462 malaria suspected cases, 122 (26.4%) had Plasmodium infection which was confirmed by microscopy or RDT. 64.75 %, 32 % and 3.75% of malaria was caused by P. falciparum, P. vivax and mixed infections respectively. Malaria incidence in and around Anger Gute town from June to December 2018 was found to be 0.343 % (122/ 35, 585). No significant difference in incidence of malaria was found by sex and age categories of study participants (P>0.05). Incidence of malaria was significantly lower in urban kebeles compared to rural kebeles (COR= 0.359, P=0.00). Incidence of malaria was significantly associated with presence of stagnant water nearby living house (AOD=186.3, P=0.000), utilization of bed net (AOD=0.08, P=0.000), and IRS (AOD=0.056,P=0.03). Six years malaria trend analysis at Anger Gute Health Center showed that number of confirmed malaria cases was significantly decreased in 2014 - 2018 as compared to 2013. Since 2014; numbers of confirmed malaria cases have been more or less constant in Anger Gute health center. Conclusions: Incidence of malaria in and around Anger Gute town was 3.43 per 1000 population at risk of the disease during the study period and was lower than recent incidence of malaria reported from Ethiopia. Trend analysis of malaria from 2014 to 2018 indicated nearly unchanged numbers of malaria cases. This shows presence of low sustained malaria transmission. Integrated vector control efforts are needed to suppress transmission that lead to elimination of the disease in the study setting. Key words: Anger Gute, malaria, malaria incidence