Abstract

During the recent crisis in Côte d’Ivoire that lasted 9 years (2002-2021) many health workers were moved from the affected areas to safer places, The aim of the study is to update malaria epidemiology in one of the most affected area (Bouake city) after the crisis ended. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in children aged 6 months - 14 years old, one in the rainy season and in the dry season in three districts of the city of Bouake and two villages. Microscopy results were used to determine malaria endemicity in children of 2-9 years old, the prevalence of Plasmodium species and Plasmodium falciparum infection. Logistic regression was used to analyse the relationship between the prevalence of malaria infection, episodes of fever and malaria attacks as diagnosed by microscopy, RDT and the type of setting, age groups, sex, season and the use of LLIN. A total of 859 children were enrolled of which 378 from rural and 481 from urban areas. P. falciparum was the predominant parasite species with a prevalence ranging 99.48% from urban to 100% from rural. The plasmodic index sowed hyper-endemicity both in urban (77.60%) and rural (77.11%). P. falciparum infection prevalence was high (78.7%) with no significant differences between areas, sex, age and season. The prevalence of microscopic-confirmed malaria cases was significantly higher in rural than in urban (27.78% vs 21.62%; p=0.032). Children  5 and 9 years old had higher prevalence of malaria attack (p<0.001). This high endemicity was linked to lower access to health facilities due to the crisis.

Key words: Prevalence, malaria cases, infection, Bouake, Côte d’Ivoire.