Comparative Studies on the Plasmodium Falciparium Infection in Five Communities of Odegu Clan in Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria

Malaria is a great public health challenge among the people in the rural communities. They lack adequate knowledge of the infection, preventive strategies regarding to contact with the vector species and better treatment implementation. Studies on the comparative studies on the plasmodium falciparum infection was conducted in five villages of Odegu clan of Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State, Niger Delta between September 2021 and April, 2022. About 2mls of intravenous blood samples were collected from cubital veins of the arm from 1252 randomly selected individuals and examined using routine microscopy after processing with standard parasitologic techniques. The study revealed Plasmodium falciparum was only species of malaria found during the study with an overall prevalence of 709 (56.6%) across the five study areas. It was observed that Rumuji has a higher prevalence of 16.5%, followed by Rumuodogo with 15.4% prevalence, while the least prevalence of 4.5% were recorded with Eveku community. Result from age-related prevalence shows 20-29 years age brackets were observed to be most infected with 13.5%, while least prevalence were observed with age 80+. Study participant in sex-related prevalence shows female recorded 58.5% prevalence while male recorded 53.6% prevalence. The study indicates that malaria is still prevalence in the rural areas. Environmental sanitation is highly needed to prevent the breeding of vector host in the study area. There is need to empower the people through education and awareness to understand better on strategies in elimination, prevention and control measures.