Parasitological assessment of presumptive diagnosis and treatment of Malaria in some health facilities in Jos

According to World Health Organization estimates released in 2021, there were 241 million cases of malaria and 627,000 deaths worldwide in 2020. Sub – Saharan Africa and India carried almost 85% of the global burden. Nigeria is among the six countries which accounted for more than half of all malaria cases worldwide, mostly consisting of pregnant women and children under 5years. Nearly 110million clinical cases of malaria are diagnosed each year, and malaria contributes up to 60% of out – patients’ visits and 30% of hospital admissions. This study sought to establish the accuracy with which malaria is presumptively diagnosed and treated based on clinical presentations only and the cost estimates on the patient in the study facilities. A prospective study was carried out between October, 2018 to June 2019 using 356 participants who came to the health facilities to access treatment with suspected cases of malaria and were presumptively diagnosed and treated for malaria. Demographics and blood samples were collected from eligible and consented patients and screened for plasmodium parasite by microscopy. The results obtained showed 88% of the patients tested negative for plasmodium parasite while 12% tested positive. The cost of anti-malarial ranged from 500 – 1000 naira (using the median score). Authors concluded that only 12% of those treated for malaria actually needed such treatments. This underscores the need to test for malaria before treatment.