Prevalence of malaria and anaemia in pregnancy in Ibadan, South-western Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the episode of malaria infection and anaemia in pregnancy of 226 women. The overall prevalence of malaria infection among pregnant women was 23.08%, while only 7.1% of non-pregnant women were malaria positive. The mean parasite density was significantly higher in the primigravidae than in the multigravidae (3144±107 versus 1014±158; p<0.05). The mean parasite densities were significantly higher in both primigravidae and multigravidae than in the non-pregnant control (3144±107 and 1014±158 respectively versus 101±70; P<0.05). The mean haemoglobin (Hb0 concentration was significantly higher in the malaria negative non-pregnant control than in the malaria negative primigravidae (12.60±1.01versus 10.33±1.40; p>0.05), but there was no significant difference between the mean Hb concentration of malaria negative non-pregnant women and malaria negative pregnant women (12.60±1.01versus11.01±1.06p>0.05). The haemoglobin concentration was significantly higher in malaria positive non-pregnant controls than in the malaria positive primigravidae (11.56±1.01 versus 9.85±1.85p<0.05), but not significantly higher than that of the malaria positive multigravidae (11.56±1.01versus 10.45±1.45). Primigravidae were found to be more susceptible to malaria infection and severe anaemia than the multigravidae, hence, primigravidae are considered to need more medical attention than the multigravidae.

Nigerian Journal of Parasitology Vol. 25, 2004: 51-55