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ABSTRACT
Malaria remains a significant public health concern in Nigeria, accounting for a substantial burden of disease and mortality. Understanding the prevalence of malaria among age groups is instrumental in developing targeted prevention and treatment strategies that consider the unique challenges faced by each demographic. This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the prevalence of malaria among young adults (20-40 years) and older adults (41 years and above) attending the outpatient department of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital from January to June 2023. Thirty-two thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight patients were examined, of which 793 were found to be infected with malaria, resulting in an overall prevalence of 2.42%. Also, the prevalence was statistically (p> 0.05) similar between males (2.30%) and females (2.51%). The study revealed a malaria prevalence of 2.46% among females and 2.34% among males during the wet season (April-June). In the dry season (January-March), the prevalence was 2.57% for females and 2.26% for males. However, the differences in prevalence between seasons, genders and age groups were not statistically significant (p< 0.05). These findings highlight the relatively low malaria burden in the study population compared to previous reports from other regions of Nigeria. Potential factors contributing to this observation, such as the effectiveness of malaria control measures or socio cultural influences, warrant further investigation. The study underscores the importance of tailored interventions and continuous surveillance to address the disease burden effectively
