Trend analysis of malaria at Maraki Health Center, Gondar Town, Northwest Ethiopia: a ten-year retrospective study

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> Background Globally, malaria is the major public health disease caused by plasmodium species and it is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a protozoan parasite belonging to the genus <italic>Plasmodium</italic>. The largest number of malaria cases and deaths are reported from the WHO African region mainly, Sub-Saharan Africa, each year. The aim of the study was to assess the ten-year trend of malaria in Maraki Health Center, Gondar Town, northwest Ethiopia. Methods A retrospective study was carried out at Maraki Health Center. Ten-year (2012–2021) blood film results were extracted by reviewing the laboratory logbook. A chi-square test was used to describe associations between malaria cases and different variables. Result In a ten-year period, 15,978 blood films were requested for malaria diagnosis, of whom 57.5% were from males. About 68.0% fell under the age group of 15–45 years old. The overall prevalence of malaria was 25.2% (n = 4019) (95% CI: 23.83–26.59). <italic>Plasmodium falciparum</italic> was the dominant malaria species over the ten-year period. The highest peaks of total malaria cases were observed in 2012 and in October, and the lowest peaks were observed in 2016 and April (mean annual case = 401.9). The highest and lowest peaks of <italic>P. falciparum</italic> cases followed a similar pattern to the total malaria cases. The highest and lowest peaks of <italic>P. vivax</italic> cases were observed in 2012 and 2018, respectively. There was a statistically significant year and monthly variation of malaria cases (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0:001). Malaria was reported in both sexes and all age groups, of which males and the age group 15–45 years old comprised the maximum number of malaria cases (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0:001). Conclusion Malaria continues to be an important public health concern in the study area. A significant fluctuation was observed over the ten-year period. <italic>Plasmodium falciparum</italic> was the predominant species, despite some annual <italic>P. vivax</italic> dominance. Uninterrupted efforts are still essential to decrease the burden of malaria to a level that has no more public health effects.