Efficacy of Malaria Symptoms as an Indicator of Malaria Infection among Students of a Tertiary Institution in Ogun State Nigeria

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by the parasite Plasmodium, which is transmitted through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum parasitemia refers to the presence of the parasite in the absence of fever or malaria-related symptoms. In Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State, Nigeria, a study was conducted to ascertain the frequency of asymptomatic malaria among students attending higher education institutions and determine the efficacy of malaria symptoms as an indicator of malaria infection. A total of 115 students who consented to participate in the study were enrolled, and only a total of 93 of the respondents were recruited for the study, having met the inclusion criteria. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain data on socio-demographic characteristics, signs and symptoms of malaria, and malaria prevention strategy using Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN). Blood samples were collected from the respondents and diagnosed for malaria using Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT) kit. Of the 93 respondents, 32 (34%) were males while 61 (66%) were females. Analysis of the result showed that 77% of the respondents had malaria parasites, 38.7% of the respondents indicated that they do feel feverish sometimes while 47.3% responded that they rarely feel feverish, those who rarely show symptoms were observed to be asymptomatic as the result of the RDT was positive for malaria. On the use of Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) for both categories of students, those who are not using the net had a higher prevalence (64.5%) of malaria infection. The result of this study shows that malaria symptoms is not a good diagnostic tool for determining treatment. Asymptomatic malaria was a risk factor among the students therefore measures to reduce the prevalence are advocated.