Emerging Trends in Clinical Malaria in Parts of Abia State: Influence of Environmemtal, Human and Socio-Cultural Factors

A study was conducted between 1999 and 2003 on the sustenance of malaria in parts of Abia State, based on data from randomly selected clinics, hospitals and health-care centers in the state. A total 66.053 patients were recorded. Of this number. 50.998 studys of malaria were reported in the study period comprising of 5.218: 6.010:10.850: 13.915 and 15,005 for 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, respectively. There were significant increases in malaria records for the period 1999 through 2000 to 2003 at p>0.05. The sustenance of malaria was related to the biology of the disease and some emerging trends in clinical malaria as boasted by poor environmental, human and social factors. Other factors responsible for the increase in the incidence of clinical malaria were found to include drug and insecticide resistance, global climate change, land use practices, the human ecology, poor diagnosis of the disease and management modalities plus the factor of sundry socio-cultural beliefs.