Malaria Control & Elimination

Assessment of the Climatic and Environmental Factors on the Spatial Distribution of Malaria in Amhara Region, North-West Ethiopia

Abstract

Haile Mekonnen Fenta, Lijalem Melie Tesfaw, Awoke Seyoum Tegegne, Denekew Bitew Belay, Godada Keleb Lake, Muluwork Ayele Derebe, Abay Kassa Teklie*, Eyerus Asmare and Mollalign Tarekegn Minwagaw

Background: Malaria is a major global public health problem, particularly in developing nations. Its transmission in Ethiopia is primarily cyclical and unstable. The objective of this study was to assess factors affecting the spatial distribution of malaria in the Amhara region.

Methods: One hundred nine woredas were included in the study. The spatial autocorrelation of malaria incidence and hotspot analysis was determined by Moran’s diagram and local Moran’s I index, respectively. The relationships between malaria incidence and the ecological predictors of transmission were analyzed in all 93 geopolitical areas.

Results: A quarter of woredas in the Amhara region had precipitation equal to 73.67 mm. Among the covariates, aridity (SAC=-0.019, pvalue< 0.001), temperature (SAC=-0.438, p-value<0.001), enhancement of vegetation index (SAC=-0.001, p-value<0.001), land surface temperature (SAC=11436, p-value<0.001), daytime wet (SAC=0.037, p-value<0.05), daytime land surface temperature (SAC=-5718, pvalue< 0.001), diurnal temperature range (SAC=0.1082, p-value<0.001), insecticide-treated bed nets (SAC=0.001, p-value<0.01), the amount of stagnant water (SAC=0.001, P-value<0.05) and average nighttime luminosity (SAC=-0.015, p-value<0.01) significantly affected the prevalence of malaria in the study area.

Conclusion: Among the different districts, Asagirt woreda had the highest prevalence (83.3%) and the minimum prevalence in the study areas was 1.89%. On average about 18% of individuals who visited the hospitals for checkups became malaria positive. Health-related education should be strengthened on removing stagnant water by discarding old tires that may collect rainwater, and removing debris from streams so streams flow more freely.

HTML PDF