RESEARCH ARTICLE


Malaria Burden and Trend Among Clients Seeking Healthcare in the Western Region: A 4-Year Retrospective Study at the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Hospital, Ghana



John G. Deku1, *, Sylvester Y. Lokpo1, Kenneth K. Kye-Amoah2, Verner N. Orish3, Francis A. Ussher4, Joseph Esson2, Romeo A. Aduko1, Mavis P. Dakorah5, James Osei-Yeboah1
1 Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, PMB 31, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana
2 Department of Laboratory, Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Hospital, Ghana Health Service, Sefwi-Wiawso, Western Region, Ghana
3 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
4 Faculty of Health and Allied Sciences, Koforidua Technical University, Koforidua, Eastern Region, Ghana
5 Department of Laboratory, St. Dominic Hospital, Akwatia, Eastern Region, Ghana


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Creative Commons License
© 2018 Deku et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Health and Allied Sciences, PMB 31, Ho, Volta Region, Ghana; Tel: +233243925549; E-mail: jdeku@uhas.edu.gh


Abstract

Background:

Malaria cases continue to rise despite sustained efforts directed at eliminating the burden among Ghanaians. This study was aimed at describing the spectrum of malaria burden in a four-year (2013-2016) retrospective review among clients seeking care at the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Hospital in the Western Region of Ghana.

Materials and Methods:

The study analyzed secondary data extracted on 32,629 patients who were referred to the Laboratory for malaria testing from January 2013 to December 2016. Socio-demographic data included age and gender, department of test requisition and malaria results were obtained from the archived Daily Malaria Logbook records. Approval for the study was granted by the authorities of the Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Hospital.

Results:

The overall confirmed malaria case was 8629 (26.5%), among under five 1,384 (58.7%), pregnant women 4451 (20.3%) and 14.1% among asymptomatic population. Significant gender disparity in the confirmation of suspected malaria cases was observed with males recording higher rate (45.8%) than females (36.7%). The peak of the malaria epidemic was observed in the wet season (195 cases per month), compared to the dry season (133 cases per month).

Conclusion:

Cases of malaria is increasing with high rates among vulnerable groups in the Western Region. There is the need to intensify efforts to reduce the burden in the study area especially among vulnerable groups.

Keywords: Malaria, Parasite, Incidence, Morbidity, Mortality, Vulnerable groups.