Assessment Of Knowledge On Factors Contributing To Highland Malaria Outbreaks In Gucha District And Available Preventive And Control Measures

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by protists of the genus Plasmodium. Malaria is responsible for high morbidity and mortality rates among children under five years and pregnant women. Recent climatic changes leading to global warming has resulted in the emergence of malaria in highlands in Africa where malaria never existed before. In Kenya, highland malaria is very rampant in Nyanza, Gucha District and some parts of Rift Valley province where it occurs as epidemics. Annually Malaria in Kenya claims the lives of 26,000 children aged less than five years old with an average death of 72 children per day. In order to curb these epidemics, prevention and control measures should be intensified. The strengthening of malaria surveillance and monitoring needs to be given priority in parallel with efforts to control the malaria vector. This will involve a combination of environmental, physical and chemical control measures, through joint efforts of both governmental and non-governmental agencies. A cross sectional descriptive study was carried out aimed at collecting both qualitative and quantitative data on knowledge on factors contributing to highland malaria outbreak and available control and preventive factors in Gucha District, Kenya. Data were collected using structured open-ended questionnaires, focus group discussions and desk reviews of health records and data at Gucha District hospital and some rural health facilities in Gucha District. The sample size was four hundred respondents. The study population consisted of adult patients and patient attendants aged 18 years and above who sought health care in Gucha district hospital and some rural facilities in Gucha District. Fifteen study sites were selected for representative coverage of the district.