The Study Area
The study was carried out at the Medical Laboratory department of the Federal Medical Centre Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, Nigeria. The Hospital is a tertiary health care facility located in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State Capital. It serves as a referral centre for more than 4 million Nigerians, particular Sokoto, Niger and Kebbi States; and neighboring Niger and Benin Republic among other West African countries in the sub-region.
Study Design
The study is a retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study that was carried out from January to December, 2018.
SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
Participants’ Selection
Hospital records of a total of five thousand, six hundred and forty-five (5,645) feverish patients attending general out patients’ department and medical laboratory department of the federal medical centre Birnin Kebbi were retrieved and analysed for the study. The procedures followed in getting the information from the patients include: patients’ evaluation by the Consultant general at the out patients’ department, obtained informed consent and, administration of a structured hospital laboratory form to elicit data on subject’s demographic characteristics, age, gender, and laboratory investigation.
Blood Samples Collection and Processing
A sterile 22G needle fitted with syringe was used to collect five milliliters (5ml) of whole blood using standard technique of vein puncture and transferred into ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) bottles, allowed to properly mixed and samples properly labeled. Thick and thin blood smears were prepared together on a single slide from the blood collected in the EDTA bottles using with well labelled identifications numbers, WHO recommended malaria slides template was use to guide the process of making of blood smears. The thin film was fixed with absolute methanol, the slides were allowed to air dry and blood slides were stained with a 3% Giemsa solution for 30mins, clean water was use to float off the iridescent scum on the slides surface of the stain, each of the stained slides was remove one by one placing them downwards in drying rack to drain and dry, making sure that thick film does not touch the edge of the rack
Light microscopic Examination
To generate the record used in the study, thick-blood smear slides were examined for the presence or absence of parasites by expert microscopists who had been trained in 10-days basic malaria microscopy by USAID-PMI funded malaria project in Kebbi State by Malaria Action Programme for States (MAPS),validation and second stage reading was conducted by WHO expert microscopist with level 1 certification through the World Health Organization (WHO) External Competency Assessment for Malaria Microscopy scheme.). Two independent microscopists examined a minimum of 100 high-power magnification fields before the slide was classified as negative as per national and WHO guidance. Each microscopist read a maximum of 20 slides per day. Accurate malaria diagnosis was defined as concordance in the presence or absence of parasites in 100phf. Two independent expert microscopists cross-checked each of the slides and a third independent expert microscopist was called when necessary as a tie-breaker when the first two expert readers disagreed. To further validate the reading and ensuring quality, 25% of total slides were re-examine by WHO level 1 expert malaria microscopist.
Inclusion Criteria
All patients with fever attending general out patients’ department and medical laboratory department of the federal medical centre Birnin Kebbi in all age group and both sexes were included.
Exclusion Criteria
All patients with fever attending general out patients’ department but not medical laboratory department of the federal medical centre Birnin Kebbi in all age group and both sexes were excluded.