Epidemiological characterization of malaria in rural southern Tanzania following China-Tanzania pilot joint malaria control baseline survey

BACKGROUND: Malaria is an important public health problem in Tanzania. The latest national malaria data suggests rebound of the disease in the country. Anopheles arabiensis, a mosquito species renowned for its resilience against existing malaria vector control measures has now outnumbered the endophagic and anthrophilic Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto as the dominant vector. Vector control measures, prophylaxis and case management with artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) are the main control interventions. This paper presents and discusses the main findings from a baseline household survey that was conducted to determine malaria parasite prevalence and associated risk exposures prior to piloting the T3-initiative of World Health Organization integrated with Chinese malaria control experience aimed at additional reduction of malaria in the area. METHODS: The study was conducted from 4 sub-district divisions in Rufiji District, southern Tanzania: Ikwiriri, Kibiti, Bungu, and Chumbi. Malaria transmission is endemic in the area. It involved 2000 households that were randomly selected from a list of all households that had been registered from the area. Residents in sampled households were interviewed on a range of questions that included use of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) the night prior to the interview and indicators of socio-economic status. Blood drops were also collected on blood slides that were examined for malaria parasites using microscopes. RESULTS: The study observed an average malaria parasite prevalence of 13% across the selected site. Its distribution was 5.6, 12.8, 16.7, and 18% from Ikwiriri, Kibiti, Bungu, and Chumbi wards, respectively. The corresponding LLIN use discovered were 57.5% over the district. The highest usage was observed from Ikwiriri at 69.6% and the lowest from Bungu at 46.3%. A statistically significant variation in parasitaemia between socio-economic quintiles was observed from the study. Males were more parasitaemic than females (p value = 0.000). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The findings have been discussed in the light of results from Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey-Malaria Indicator Survey, 2015–2016 and other related studies, together with goals and targets set for malaria control. The paper also discusses the observed parasitaemia in relation to reported LLIN use and its distribution by some important factors as they were explored from the study. It has been concluded that malaria burden is now concentrated on the fringes of the settlements where the poorest section of the population is concentrated and LLIN usage is lower than the national average and targets set by national and global malaria control initiatives.