MALARIA RISK ASSESSMENT OF AKURE NORTH AND SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF ONDO STATE USING GIS

Abstract

Malaria, a mosquito-borne, protozoan disease, is an important health problem of developing countries, especially Africa. Malaria accounts for nearly 110 million clinically diagnosed cases per year, an estimated 300,000 children die due to malaria. The study was designed to map malaria risk areas within Akure North and South Local Government Areas of Ondo State. Health-based survey, larval survey, socio-economic survey, and geographic information system (GIS) were used in achieving the objectives of the study. Larvae of mosquitoes were collected from breeding sites across the study areas; information on reported malaria cases from year 2010 to 2013 were retrieved from primary health centres, while socio-economic data of the population such as housing characteristics, water sources, proximity to farmlands, dumpsites, and water bodies were generated using questionnaires. Maps of dumpsites, rivers, primary health centres and Landuse/Landcover of the areas were generated using a combination of field and satellite data in a GIS environment, while Pearson’s chi-square was used to correlate variables. The Results revealed that the presence of anopheline larvae (18%) in the study areas and the socioeconomic characteristics of the population were contributory factors to malaria; as environmental conditions of respondents were significant (P<0.05) when correlated with prevalence of malaria (62.4%). Moreover, high incidence of malaria and the presence of anopheline mosquitoes indicated that the entire study area is a malaria endemic zone as represented in the generated risk map. Therefore, it can be concluded that a change in environmental conditions and lifestyle choices can either escalate the malaria endemicity or curb it as areas with high altitude, presence of larvae, water body, and dumpsites and other factors are at a higher risk of malaria and vice versa. The higher the number of predisposing factors, the higher the risk of malaria as shown in the map. The introduction of sanitation programmes can ensure that mosquito breeding grounds are eliminated through filling up of depressions, disposing shells, discarding cans and earthen vessels appropriately.