Assessment of Rapid Diagnostic Test and Microscopy in the Detection of Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Infection among Young Adults in South-western Nigeria

Malaria is a major public health problem in Sub-Sahara Africa with over 95% of occurrence in Nigeria due to Plasmodium falciparum. This study assessed the prevalence of P. falciparum malaria infection among young adults of Babcock University, Ilishan- Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria using rapid diagnostic test and microscopic methods. A total of 5 ml venous blood was collected from each of the 200 consenting randomly recruited young adults (100 males and 100 females) without a history of anti-malaria drugs or herbal remedies in the preceding two (2) weeks. P. falciparum in participants' blood was detected using SD Bioline Malaria P. falciparum Histidin-Rich Protein II (HRP-II) Antigen Rapid Diagnostic Test Kit supplied by Standard Diagnostics, INC and also by conventional microscopic examination of Giemsa stained thin and thick blood films. The outcome of this study shows that the prevalence of P. falciparum malaria infection among young adults of Babcock University as detected by RDT and microscopic method is 0.5% and 86.0%, respectively. The microscopic method appears to be a more reliable diagnostic tool for malaria infection than the rapid diagnostic method with a sensitivity of 86.19%. P. falciparum malaria infection was significantly higher (P<0.05) among the female participants (47.5%) than their male counterparts (38.5%). And it was also found to be highest among participants within 16-20 years age range (45.5%). 87.8% of the participants who tested positive had a malaria parasite density (MPD) of one plus (+), while the rest (12.2%) had a malaria parasite density of two pluses (++). The findings in this study show that P. falciparum malaria infection is common among young adults of Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria, therefore urgent and appropriate public health intervention is required.