Malaria Prevalence and Treatment Seeking Behaviour of Young Nigerian Adults - Annals of African Medicine Vol.5 No.2

Today we are featuring "Malaria Prevalence and Treatment Seeking Behaviour of Young Nigerian Adults" by Anumudu et al. in the Annals of African Medicine, vol. 5, no. 2.
  
This study was designed and conducted to determine the preferred treatment and control methods used by young adults in urban areas, as well as the presence and levels of anti-malaria antibodies as an indication of exposure. 

Researchers used questionnaires regarding malaria management and the treatment practices given to 307 undergraduate science majors, as well as follow up questionnaires given to a small portion of the students. 

Microscopy was conducted to determine parasitaemia and antibodies Plasmodium falciparum MSP-1 were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). 

The results of this study may be surprising to some. In the population, malaria prevalence was 17% (19/109) and the burden of the parasite was generally low. Antimalaria antibodies, however, were present in 93.6% of the volunteers confirmed malaria exposure within the volunteers. 

Analysis of the data revealed that self-treatment of the virus at home was a common practice among the study group. Approximately 25% of the volunteers treated themselves when initial symptoms began to show. This included the use of herbal remedies as well as multiple medications to treat a single episode of malaria. Cloroquine and Maloxine were most often used in these treatments. The study showed that 97.5% of the volunteers had malaria at least once within the prior 3 months of the study.

In summary, the study indicated that most of the volunteers had been exposed to malaria, yet the virus did not transmit into illness, possibly due to the knowledge of malaria transmission and prophylactic use of antimalarial medication. Additionally, the study indicates that although treatment for malaria by a doctor is best, many episodes of the sickness are treated outside of the formal setting of a hospital or care facility.  

For this article and others from this issue, click here.

Almost 38% of pregnant women in this study were found to have prenatal vitamin A deficiency -- Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition Vol.31 No.2

This week we will be featuring the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition on the blog. 

Today we are featuring vol.31 no.2. This issue includes "Prevalence and Correlates of Prenatal Vitamin A Deficiency in Rural Sidama, Southern Ethiopia" by Gebresalassie et al. This study examines the correlation and prevalence of prenatal vitamin A deficiency in rural Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. Seven hundred pregnant women were randomly selected for the study. High-performance liquid chromatography determined serum retinol concentration. Researchers analyzed data using logistic and linear regression. The results indicated that prenatal vitamin A deficiency was found in almost 38% of cases. The odds of having prenatal vitamin A deficiency was higher in women who did not have a self-earned income or education. Women between the ages of 35 and 49 had over 2 times the odds of having prenatal vitamin A deficiency than women between the ages of 15 and 24 years. The results also indicated that the lower the dietary diversity score before the survey, the higher the odds of vitamin A deficiency.

"Sleeping under Insecticide-treated Nets to Prevent Malaria in Nigeria: What Do We Know?" by Oneyeho is also featured in this issue. This study was conducted through focus group discussions in 3 geopolitcal zones in Nigeria to assess the usage of insecticide-treated nets to protect against the Plasmodium falciparum parasite. Through these focus group discussions, it was found that people had poor knowledge of mosquito bites and malaria, which resulted in improper usage. Among the improper usage was using the nets as door and window blinds with the misconception that this would protect the entire house. Only two nets were given per household. The study concluded that community structures such as places of worship could be used to educate the community about health and malaria.

These articles and other articles from this issue can be found here.