The prevalence of malaria in patients from some selected Local Government Areas of Kaduna State, north-west, Nigeria

Cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of malaria among patients from randomly selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kaduna State was undertaken between March 2011 to February 2012. Blood samples were collected from 1,918 patients attending the GOPD Ward various state government-owned hospitals in selected LGAs and examined for malaria parasites. Among the LGAs, Kaduna-South LGA had the highest (84.7%) prevalence of malaria while the lowest (60.7%) prevalence was recorded in Kachia LGA. The highest prevalence of malaria was recorded in the wet month of August (78.7%) and lowest in the dry month of  February (47%). The monthly prevalence of malaria showed no significant  association to malaria infection except in the dry months of January and February 2012.The age related prevalence of malaria indicates higher prevalence (75.0%) in 0-4 years agegroup while the least prevalence (58.7%) was recorded in 5-14 years age-group. Only age-group 15 and above was significantly associated to prevalence of malaria. The prevalence of malaria in males was slightly higher (74%) than in females (67%) in the study, however, the difference in prevalence was not significant (p>0.05).The Federal Government of Nigeria and its partners in the Roll Back Malaria scheme should strive to ensure that the importance of preventive measures should be strongly emphasized in every nook and cranny of the LGAs of the state.Keywords: Prevalence; malaria; Kaduna States; patients; Nigeria