Abstract:
Although, Plasmodium vivax is a rare parasite in most parts of Africa, it has significant public
health importance in Ethiopia. In some parts of the country, it is responsible for majority of
malaria associated morbidity. Recently severe life threatening malaria syndromes, frequently
associated to P. falciparum, has been reported from P. vivax mono-infections. This prompted
designing of the current study to assess prevalence of severe malaria complications related to
P. vivax malaria in Ethiopia.
Methods
The study was conducted in two study sites, namely Kersa and Halaba Kulito districts,
located in southwest and southern parts of Ethiopia, respectively. Children, aged ≤ 10 years,
who visited the two health centers during the study period, were recruited to the study.
Clinical and demographic characteristics such as age, sex, temperature, diarrhea, persistent
vomiting, confusion, respiratory distress, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, hemoglobinuria, and
epitaxis were assessed for a total of 139 children diagnosed to have P. vivax mono-infection.
Parasitological data were collected following standard procedures. Hemoglobin and glucose
level were measured using portable hemocue instrument.
Results
Median age of children was 4.25 ± 2.95 years. Geometric mean parasite count and mean
hemoglobin level were 4254.89 parasite/µl and 11.55 g/dl, respectively. Higher prevalence
rate of malaria and severe malaria complications were observed among children enrolled in
Halaba district (P < 0.001). However, severe parasitemia was higher (72.4%) among children
who visited Serbo health center (Kersa district). Male children had significantly higher risk of
malaria infection (OR = 1.9, 95% CI, 1.08 to 3.34), while female had higher risk to anemia
(OR = 1.91, 95% CI, 1.08 - 3.34). The observed number of anemic children was 43%, of
which most of them were found in age range from 0–3 years. Furthermore, P. vivax malaria
was a risk factor for incidence of anemia (P < 0.05) in the two sites.
