PEREVALANCE OF MALARIA AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG PATIENT ATTENDING IN GUANGUA HEALTH CENTERE, ABAYA WOREDA, WEST GUJI ZONE.

<strong>ABSTRACT</strong>: Malaria is one of the most severe public health problems in the world today. It is caused by the infection of parasitic protozoa belonging to the genus Plasmodium. The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of malaria and associated risk factor among patients attending Guangua health centre. A cross-sectional study was conducted from September to October, 2023. Questionnaire was applied to get data about socio-demographic characteristics, Insecticide-treated bed nets condition and availability, Insecticide-treated bed nets utilization, Indoor residual spray, presence of stagnant water, outdoor stay at night, housing condition, and health information about malaria were collected by using structured questionnaire. Blood samples were collected from 227 systematically selected patients. Thin and thick blood smears were prepared, stained with 10% Giemsa and examined under light microscope for the presence of malaria parasite. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association of malaria cases with socio-demographic variables. The overall malarial prevalence in the study area was 33 (14.5%) with prevalence in the rural area significantly higher than urban (p= 0.006) in which 23(10.1%) and 10(4.4%) malaria positive individuals in the rural and urban areas respectively. Malaria prevalence in males were higher than females (p= 0.05) with the prevalence rate of 9.7% and 4.8% in males and females respectively. P. falciparum appeared to be the dominant Plasmodium species followed by plasmodium vivax and mixed. The study demonstrated that malaria remains a public health burden in the area. This would be an important indicative that the area needs due attention and further concerted malaria interventions. Therefore, community mobilization should be strengthen in order to improve implementation of malaria control activities and, hence, reducing the prevalence.