摘要
Objective:To determine malaria prevalence,knowledge,attitude and practices at residents of Lagos Island Local Government.Methods:Two hundred blood samples were collected from adults attending the General Hospital,Marina while 100 questionnaires were administered to individuals still in the same hospital.Majority of the respondents were between the ages of 18 and 30 years(44%),while the age group 60 and above had the lowest population(9%).Results:More than half of the respondents(68%)were employed and engaged in different occupations such as entrepreneur(32%),students(31%),trader(24%),and civil servant(10%).Stratification of the respondents by income revealed that 71%earned above the minimum wage,while 29%earned below.The prevalence of malaria by microscopy method was 10.5%.Malaria parasite had significant effect on the packed cell volume of infected individuals(P<0.05).Preventive measures employed by the respondents were majorly insecticide(72.2%),while some others(5.6%)used mosquito net.Majority of the respondents(98%)believed that malaria was caused by mosquito.Conclusions:Therefore,it is appropriate to put in place preventive measures against malaria to avoid high prevalence of the number one killer in tropical Africa.
