Malarial Parasitaemic and Splenic Rates among Highland Children in Jos

Abstract

Summary: As an extension of a study on the relevance of malaria in post-operative morbidity of surgical patients, it was decided to study the magnitude of malaria problem in a selected population among the highlanders of Jos environs, namely: Jengre, Foron, Amokatako and Toro communities. A total of 836 children, aged between two and 14 years, were screened in the dry season, while 882 were studied during the rainy season. There was malaria parasitaemia rate of 23.3 percent and spleen rate of 15.07 percent during the dry season, while the respective figures during the rainy season were 40.03 and 21.09 percent. During the dry season, the average enlarged spleen (AES) ranged from 0.07 in Toro to 0.4 in both Jengre and Amokatako, while in the rainy season the range was from 0.1 in Toro to 0.6 in Amokatako.