ITN ownership and usage among household members in Okposi and Umuoghana communities in Ezza North LGA, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Malaria is an important cause of illness and death in many parts of the world especially in Sub-saharan Africa including Nigeria. Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) are the most malaria preventive measure for large scale control in highly endemic areas. The effectiveness of ITNs in reducing prevalence of malaria among household members following free distribution of two nets per household in communities by State Ministry of Health and Roll Back Malaria awareness campaign was assessed.
METHODS:
A total of 14201 ITNs were deployed in the two communities. Both structured questionnaire and blood examinations were carried out among household members visited to determine the malaria pointers. Data was analyzed using appropriate statistical packages
RESULTS:
Results from the survey showed malaria parasitaemia in 175 (24.5%) out of 715 individuals examined, highest prevalence was among individuals 5-10 years old (33.7%). Females (52.6%) were more infected than males (47.4%) even though not statistically significant (P >0.05). one hundred and fifty six (156) households (61.4%) owned ITNs but only 116 (74.4%) slept under net the previous night. Household members who slept under ITNs were less likely to have malaria parasite in their blood (6.7% prevalence) compared with household who did not (17.8% prevalence) P<0.001. These households also have 6.12 chance of being infected with malaria based on 95% confidence interval odd ratio calculations.
CONCLUSIONS:
Sleeping under ITNs as shown in the study significantly reduced the prevalence of malaria among household members. Campaign on ITN usage should be intensified after increase in ITN ownership in communities for reduction of malaria parasitaemina among community members