Prevalence of Malaria Parasitemia and Associated Risk Factors among Asymptomatic Population in a Tertiary Institution in Kogi State, Nigeria

Idakwo, Joshua; Arome, Omatola C.; Okoye, Chris I.; Amana, Gabriel U.; Egwu, Linus S.; Idowu, Emmanuel T.

doi:10.21608/eajbse.2025.456778

Prevalence of Malaria Parasitemia and Associated Risk Factors among Asymptomatic Population in a Tertiary Institution in Kogi State, Nigeria

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, Nigeria.

² Department of Microbiology, Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, Nigeria.

³ Department of Zoology and Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Nigeria.

⁴ Department of Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lagos, Nigeria.

10.21608/eajbse.2025.456778

Abstract

Background: Malaria remains a significant health concern in the tropics.
Objectives: The study aimed to determine the prevalence of malaria among asymptomatic students of Kogi State University living off campus.
Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 250 students of Kogi State University living off campus, using the rapid diagnosis test method.
Results: The result revealed that 40(16%) students were infected with Plasmodium falciparum, with a high prevalence of 25(23.81%) recorded in males compared to 15(10.35%) in females. Students of age 25-29 years had the highest prevalence of 20(25%), followed by those of 15-19 years and 20-24 years with prevalence of 10(22.22%) and 10(10%) respectively, while no case was recorded for age 30 years and above. Genotype-related prevalence shows that students with the genotype “AS” had the highest prevalence of 15(25%), while “AA” had 25(13.51%) and “SS” had the lowest. Students with blood group of A+, O-and O+ had the prevalence of 15(37.5%), 5(25%) and 15(20%) respectively. Higher prevalence of 23.53% was observed among students who reside at the back of the school while those at Stadium Road and front of school had 15(27.27%) and 5(4.55%), respectively. Statistically, there was no significant difference between malaria parasitemia and genotype (p<0.05) but there was a difference between malaria parasitemia and sex, age, blood group, and location of students (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study indicated a substantial rate of malaria infection among students of Kogi State University living off campus. Awareness creation among students on malaria predisposing risk factors should be intensified to reduce the transmission rate

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