RESUMO
To determine the prevalence of malaria and the species of Plasmodium causing the disease in patients presenting with fever to the health center in Hajer Valley, Hadramout, Yemen. A record-based descriptive study was done in the health center in Hajer Valley, Hadramout Governorate during a one year period from January 2000 to December 2000. The 3653 patients presenting with fever were investigated in the laboratory unit for malaria using thick and thin blood films additionally, information about age and gender were collected. A range of the patients was from 0-65. There were 3653 febrile cases [males 1886, females 1767] submitted for malaria examinations. Of these, 1212 [33.2%] were malaria parasite positive, 691 [57%] of them were males and 521 [43%] were females. Infants constituted 8%, those 1-4 years 27% and those 5-14 years 27% Plasmodium falciparum represented 97% of the positive malaria cases and Plasmodium vivax 3%. Hajer Valley is a high-risk area for malaria transmission, and the predominant species was Plasmodium falciparum. The majority of the patients were males. Malaria infected all ages, but it was more common in the age groups from 0-14 years. We strongly recommend all febrile cases, in this area, to be treated with anitmalarial drugs. More effort are needed to control for this problem in Hajer Valley in order to reduce the rate of infection with malaria parasites