INDEXED IN 

ISSN 2456-0235

International Journal of Modern Science and Technology

​​​​​​​April 2020, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 111-116. 

​​​Incidence of Plasmodium falciparum among Asymptomatic and Symptomatic out door Patients of Selected Hospitals in Benue State, Nigeria

T. P. Zawua¹*, M. M. Manyi¹, T. F. Ikpa¹, R. A. I. Ega², E. U. Amuta¹
¹Department of Zoology, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria.

²Department of Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Benue State, Nigeria.

​​​*Corresponding author’s e-mail: zawua2014@gmail.com

​Abstract

​Clinical diagnosis is the cheapest and has been found to be the most commonly used diagnostic method in sub-Saharan Africa without confirmatory diagnosis. However, malaria symptoms could be overlapping with other tropical diseases which have a diminishing effect on the specificity of malaria diagnosis; hence, posing indiscriminate use of antimalarial. This study was therefore conducted between April and August 2018 to determine the distribution of P. falciparum among asymptomatic and symptomatic subjects attending selected general hospitals in Benue State, Nigeria. Blood samples were obtained from 510 volunteered participants. Giemsa stain films were prepared and examined on the microscope using oil immersion. Clinical diagnosis indicated that 49.8% were asymptomatic while 50% were symptomatic. Out of the asymptomatic subjects 88.2% had malaria while 10.2% of the symptomatic had no malaria. Though there was no significant difference (χ2= 0.08, df= 1, p>0.05) in the infection rate across asymptomatic and symptomatic subjects. There was a decrease in malaria infection with increase in adult age (χ2= 4, df= 2, p>0.05). There was no association between malaria infection and gender across asymptomatic and symptomatic males and females (p>0.05). No significant p>0.05) association was observed between the use of insecticide treated nets (ITN), indoor residual spray (IRS) and malaria infection among asymptomatic and symptomatic subjects. Confirmatory diagnosis is required for malaria case containment since asymptomatic subjects could harbour malaria parasites and fever could be induced by another agent other than malaria.

Keywords: Asymptomatic; Symptomatic; Plasmodium falciparum; Clinical diagnosis; Malaria diagnosis.

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