Impact of Climatic Variables on the Temporal Patterns of Malaria in Oyigbo L.G.A, Rivers State, Nigeria

The study used a retrospective design to examine the temporal patterns of malaria morbidity in Oyigbo LGA and investigate the relationship between temperature and rainfall on patterns of malaria morbidity in Oyigbo L.G.A. from 2007-2017. Malaria morbidity data from 2007 to 2017 were obtained from the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response System of Rivers State Ministry of Health while temperature and rainfall records from year 2007 to 2017 were obtained from Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Abuja. Data generated were analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and presented using descriptive and inferential statistics. A total of 43,662 malaria cases was recorded in the study area within during the study period with mean morbidity of 330.77. Mean temperature of 27.32oC and mean rainfall of 137.13mm were recorded. Temperature showed a negative relationship with malaria which was significant in the years 2012 and 2014. Rainfall and morbidity showed a positive relationship which was significant only in year 2012. Across the months, temperature and malaria morbidity showed a negative insignificant relationship. However, rainfall showed a positive and significant relationship with malaria morbidity in May. Malaria remains endemic among the local subjects in the study area. During the study period, overall study showed no significant relationship between malaria morbidity, temperature and rainfall. This is to say that climatic variables are not the major drivers of malaria morbidity in the study area. It is therefore recommended that more epidemiological studies be carried out to determine the drivers of malaria transmission to aid evidence-based interventions