Basic HTML Version
Journal of Mosquito Research, 2013, Vol.3, No.6, 45
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53
ISSN 1927-646X
http://jmr.sophiapublisher.com
46
Mahajan, 2003; Obionu, 2007).
It is a major
impediment to health in Sub Saharan Africa as it
remains the single biggest cause of death among
young children in Africa (http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/
2003/WHO_CDS_MAL_2003.1093.pdf:17-27).
In
highly endemic areas, children and pregnant women
are most vulnerable to attack, as other adults acquire a
degree of immunity through continued exposure
(Obionu, 2007; http://www.who.int/tdr/publications/
tdr-research-publications/social-aspects-malaria-contr
ol/pdf/seb_malaria.pdf).
In Nigeria, Plasmodium falciparum is the most
predominant malaria parasite and accounts for about
98% of cases, while P. malariae usually occurs as a
mixed infection with P. falciparum. The main vector
in Nigeria is Anopheles gambiae, which is of all
malaria vectors, the most effective, most widespread
and most difficult to control. Anopheles funestus and
Anopheles arabiensis are also commonly encountered
while Anopheles melas is found in coastal areas
(Federal Ministry of Health, 2005a; Anumudu et al.,
2004).
Malaria is stable and endemic in most of
Nigeria except in some highland areas of the
Mambilla Plateau and Obudu (Federal Ministry of
Health, 2005b). Among young children fever is the
most common symptom of malaria (http://www.
rollbackmalaria.org).
About 60% of the cases of malaria worldwide occur in
Sub Saharan Africa and over 80%~90% of malaria
deaths occur in this same region. The situation is so
serious here that every 30 seconds a child under five
dies from malaria and many children who survive an
episode of severe malaria suffer permanently from
learning impairments or brain damage (http://www.
who.int/tdr/publications/tdr-research-publications/social
-aspects-malaria-control/pdf/seb_malaria.pdf; Global
Health, 2009; Erhart and D’Alessandro, 2002).
Most children experience their first malaria infections
during the first year or two of life, when they have not
yet acquired clinical immunity – which makes these
early years particularly dangerous (http://whqlibdoc.
who.int/hq/2003/WHO_CDS_MAL_2003.1093.pdf:1
7-27; http://www.who.int/tdr/publications/tdr-research-
publications/social-aspects-malaria-control/pdf/seb_mal
aria.pdf; Adetokunbo and Gilles, 2003). It is estimated
that African children have between 1.6 and 5.4
episodes of malaria each year, a figure that varies
according to geographical and epidemiological
circumstances, with severe infections killing within
hours (http://www.rbm.who.int/docs/rps_publications/
unicef_malaria_en.pdf). Children are vulnerable to
malaria from about 4 months of age when maternal
antibodies have waned off. About 29.8 million
children under five are at risk of malaria in Nigeria
(http://www.who/mediacentre/factsheets) and in most
cases the incidence of acute illness is difficult to
measure because of the imprecision in clinical
diagnosis and lack of microscopic confirmation
(Munthali, 2005; Lesi et al., 2004). Indeed, malaria
is one of the leading killers of children under five
years, accounting for almost one death in ten
worldwide and nearly one death in five in
Sub-Saharan Africa (http://www.who.int/tdr/publica-
tions/tdr-research-publications/social-aspects-malaria
-control/pdf/seb_malaria.pdf; http://www.rollback-
malaria.org).
Malaria remains a huge public health problem in
Sub-Saharan African countries and accounts for 10%
of its disease burden even though it is both
preventable and curable (http://www.who.int/tdr/
publications/tdr-research-publications/social-aspects-
malaria-control/pdf/seb_malaria.pdf; Federal Ministry
of Health, 2005a; Adetokunbo and Gilles, 2003).
The Nigerian Government and development partners
are scaling up prevention interventions to reduce the
malaria burden and to achieve the Abuja targets
(Federal Ministry of Health, 2005a; 2005b; 2005c).
One strategy is to distribute Long Lasting Insecticidal
Nets (LLINs), free to persons at risk especially
children under five years and pregnant women.
The study was aimed at determining the
prevalence of malaria among under five children in
Kuje using both laboratory evidence of parasitaemia
and the history of fever and assessing the effect of
ITNs in reducing the prevalence of malaria among
these children.