Mapping and Analysis of Malaria Incidence Rate in the Ecological Zones of Borno State, Nigeria

Malaria incidence rate per thousand among all the LGAs in the three ecological zones in Borno State was determined in this paper. Records of malaria reported cases in all the LGAs from 2011 to 2013 and 2016 to 2018 were obtained from the Epidemiological Unit of Borno State Ministry of Health. Records before 2011 were not available while only scanty records from few LGAs were generated by the unit between 2014 and 2015 because most of the LGAs were inaccessible during this period of insurgency. The population figures of the 2006 census of all the LGAs were projected to that of 2018. Appropriate formula was used to determine malaria incidence rate per thousand. Digital map of the state was created to generate the spatial pattern of malaria incidence rates among the ecological zones in the state using the acquired reported cases and the projected population. The result revealed that malaria prevalence is latitudinally inclined; that is, decreasing from the south to the north. The incidence rate was higher in Guinea savannah at the southern part of the state where environmental factors of high rainfall and humidity, moderate temperature, dense vegetation and presence of water bodies all favor the breeding and survival of mosquitoes which increases malaria prevalence. The Sahel at the extreme north with unfavorable environmental conditions to malaria prevalence, though recorded the least malaria incidence rate, but some parts of the Sahel still recorded high malaria incidence which shows that other factors other than environmental are responsible for high malaria prevalence in the ecological zone. It was recommended that all the agencies and ministries that are saddled with the responsibilities of providing epidemiological data should ensure that up-to-date, accurate and reliable data are provided since the accuracy of malaria incidence rate depends on the reliability of the generated malaria reported cases. The zones of higher incidence should be given higher priorities than the other areas that are less prevalent to malaria. The impact of socio-economic factors on malaria incidence rate in the ecological zones of the state is recommended for further studies.