Malaria Prevalence and Housing: Preliminary Results From a Student Cohort in Zaria, Northwest Nigeria

Malaria remains a global health challenge endemic to tropical areas worldwide. Mitigation has largely been achieved through vector control using insecticide-treated nets, environmental sanitation and antimalarial chemotherapy. The latter is currently plagued by resistance. Strategies for controlling access of malaria vectors to human hosts within residences, as well as housing design and construction, have been largely ignored. Descriptive statistics and Binary Logistic Regression of data from 56 students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kongo Campus revealed a 73% malaria prevalence over a period of 1 month. Odds of reporting malaria treatment were 18 times higher among students when treating another illness, notably cold, catarrh and typhoid fever compared to those not treating any ailment ( p  = 0.01). Being older ( p  = 0.018), living close to or at ground level ( p  = 0.035) and residing in the hostel ( p  = 0.043) significantly predicted students’ reports of malaria treatment, largely through self-medication (56%). The number of measures employed by respondents to prevent malaria did not predict treating the illness. We conclude that malaria prevalence may be over-reported and over-treated among students. A preponderance of cold, catarrh, and other feverish conditions as malaria co-morbidities, as well as self-medication, likely hamper the detection of other mosquito-borne parasites. Screening of blood samples and vector characterisation using larger samples will aid the development of strategies that best mitigate vector access to human hosts within student housing in the future.