"Beyond Exploratory Data: Using Cluster Detection Tests to Pinpoint Malaria Hotspots in Nigeria"

Malaria is not communicable, but it can deteriorate and even kill a person within a day if treatment is not taken. Plasmodium falciparum is the malaria parasite that is most prevalent and deadly in Africa. This study attempts to identify malaria hotspots and potentially high-risk areas in Oyo state, Nigeria. Data on malaria cases from 2013 to 2016 were provided by the Department of Research, Planning, and Statistics (DPRS) of the Oyo State Ministry of Health. Spatial autocorrelation testing, spatiotemporal analysis, and descriptive statistics were performed using SatScan V9.11 and ArcGIS V10.8.