Background: In Ethiopia, thousands of seasonal migrant workers used to travel from non-malaria or mild malaria transmission areas to malaria-endemic areas for seasonal farm activities. Most of these migrants are staying in the farm areas for land preparation, plowing, planting, weeding, and harvesting for a specific period and back to their living areas. However, there is limited evidence of how the seasonal migrant workers contribute to the transmission of malaria to new or less malaria transmission areas.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the departure phase of seasonal migrant workers in the Metema district from September 2018 to October 2019. A total of 1208 seasonal migrant workers were interviewed during their departure from farm sites to their homes. Interviewed face to face interview was done using a pretested structured questionnaire. Moreover, blood samples were collected from each study participant for microscopic malaria parasite examination. The data were fitted with the logistic regression model to estimate the predictors’ of malaria transmissions.
Results: At the departure to home, the prevalence of malaria among seasonal migrant workers was 17.5% (15.6-19.45%). About 71.80 % (177/212) of the cases were Plasmodium falciparum, and 28.20% (35/212) Plasmodium vivax. The majority of seasonal migrant workers (77.4%) were from rural residences and highlanders (55%). Most (55.4%) of the migrants have visited two and more farm sites during their stay at development corridors for harvesting activities. About 116 (54.7%) asymptomatic malaria cases were returning to Dembiya(21.7%), Chilaga(19.8%) and Metema(13.2%) districts.
Conclusion: This study focuses on the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria among seasonal migrant workers during the departure phase to home. The role of seasonal migrant workers in carrying and spreading malaria parasites, as well as challenging the country's malaria prevention and elimination efforts, could be enormous. Age, occupation, origin, the number of farm sites visited, and the frequency with which LLINs were used were all associated with an increased asymptomatic malaria prevalence in the study area. Tailored interventions for seasonal migrant workers could be in place by programmers, partners, and implementers to enhance malaria control and elimination.