Prevalence and risk factors for malaria in pregnancy in Vanga, Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the second most malarious country in the world, but little information is available on malaria control measures in pregnancy. We conducted a longitudinal study among 395 women pregnant with singletons in the Vanga and Mayoko health facilities, Vanga Health Zone, Kwilu Province. We recruited 406 pregnant women between April and October 2019. Malaria prevalence at recruitment was 18.8% in Vanga and 30.1% in Mayoko (difference p<0.01). At delivery, malaria prevalence in placental samples was 9.7% in Vanga and 17.7% in Mayoko (difference p=0.04). The overall prevalence of anemia (< 11 g/dl hemoglobin) in both sites was high at recruitment (68.8%) and at delivery (62.9%). Malaria infection rates in the mother were high but decreased between first ANC contact and delivery - from 24.2% to 13.6%. It is unclear whether regular use of ITNs and uptake of IPTp-SP have contributed to that decrease. (Afr J Reprod Health 2021; 25[5]: 14-24).