Leucocyte Phagocytosis In Children With Urinary Schistosomiasis And Asymptomatic Malaria Parasitemia

Abstract

In the participants considered for this study, leucocyte migration, neutrophil candidacidal activity and ability to generate reactive oxygen were determined as percentage migration index (%M. I), candidacidal phagocytic index (%C.I) and bacterial stimulated nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) dye reduction index (%NBT) respectively. Also, malaria density was counted from thick blood film of glass slide stained with Giemsa stain. The participants were 54 school children having urinary schistosomiasis without malaria parasites (USS-M), 18 children with both urinary schistosomiasis and malaria parasites (USS+M), 46 children with malaria parasites without urinary schistosomiasis (M-USS) and 29 controls. The mean % M.I was least while %NBT index was highest in USS+M subjects but M-USS subjects had least %C.I. Malaria density was higher in M-USS subjects than USS+M subjects. The results of this study showed that low prevalence and reduced severity of malaria parasites in children with urinary schistosomiasis may be due to adequate production of leucocyte migration inhibitory factor (LMIF) and reactive oxygen species.

Key words: Leucocyte phagocytosis, malaria, schistosomiasis, Nigeria

Afr. J. Clin. Exper. Microbiol. 2005; 6(2): 81-86