Modeling a covered drainage system for the reduction of malaria prevalence

Abstract

A community based, cross-sectional study design was adopted using 501 consented children under the age of 14 years from 200 households. Mathematical model for determining the relationship between malaria prevalence (MP) and features of the household surroundings was designed using multiple regression models. Children age was 75.0 ± 45.5 months (range = 3–168 months). MP was 29.9/100, Most of the houses 99.0% had open drainage immediately around their surrounding, 7.1% of the drainages were flowing while 91.9% were stagnant. Solid Wastes in Drains (SWD), Stagnation of Wastewater in Drains (STWD), Presence of Open Drains (POD), and Presence of Weeds (POW) significantly predicted MP while reduction in MP after a 12-months intervention was 14.4%. Features of the household surroundings contributed more to MP and covered drainage system could reduce the burden of malaria through free flow of waste water. This engineering solution could be encouraged in communities with high MP. Keywords: Drainage, Larval reduction, Malaria prevalence, Modeling