PREVALENCE OF MALARIA INFECTION AND DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY EVALUATION OF USING RAPID DIAGNOSTIC TESTS AND MICROSCOPY IN MAIDUGURI, BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

¹Fatima Adamu Lawan, ²A.A.G. Benisheikh, ³Ibrahim Y. Ngoshe, ⁴ Amina Abdullahi,⁵Kefas victor, ⁶Esewi Agho ⁷Austine Olashade

ABSTRACT

Malaria diagnosis methods remains the major constraints of in-depth assay and chemotherapeutic treatment in developing countries like Nigeria. The objective of this study is to evaluate the different diagnostic techniques used for malaria diagnosis in the study area. A cross sectional study was conducted from January 2023 to October 2023 at Maiduguri central Abattoir of North -Eastern Nigeria. A total of one hundred eligible patients were enrolled with the simultaneous administration of questionnaire enquiring usage of insecticide treated nets, age, sex, location, and brief travel history were recorded. Finger and thumb prick blood samples were collected from eligible individuals for RDTs, thick and thin blood films. The overall prevalence of 85 (85%) out of 100 samples from those not using ITNs were tested positive for microscopy and 75 (75%) out of 100 samples from those not using ITNs tested using RDTs kits were positive for malaria fever. Similarly,an overall prevalence of 26% parasitemia was recorded in100 patients diagnosed using microscopy and 23% parasitemia was recorded in 100 samples examined using RDTs based on sex of patients examined. Likewise, overall prevalence of 24% parasitemia in microscopy methods and 20% prevalence of parasitemia was recorded in RDTs based on age group of patients examined. This high prevalence of malaria could be attributed to the poor standard of living conditions in the study area, coupled with other factors such as inaccessibility of portable drinking water, overcrowding, food insecurity & poor nutritional status and lack of access to primary health care services.

Keywords: Maiduguri, Malaria, Rapid Diagnostic Test, Evaluation, Malaria, Prevalence, Microscopy.