Prevalence and associated factors of a positive Plasmodium falciparum antigen test among pregnant women at the Bamenda Regional Hospital, Cameroon: a cross-sectional analytical study

Abstract

Introduction: approximately 25 million pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of malaria despite various preventive methods. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum parasite and its associated factors in pregnant women in Bamenda.

Methods: a hospital-based cross-sectional study conducted in March and April 2021 including pregnant women attending ANC at the Bamenda Regional Hospital. A questionnaire was used to collect data. The positive Plasmodium falciparum test was determined using a malaria rapid diagnostic test. A frequency table was used to describe the data, and a Chi-square to determine the association between independent and dependent variables. Factors significantly associated with a positive test were included in a multivariable model.

Results: among the 380 participants, 70 had a positive rapid diagnostic test (prevalence: 18.4%). Living in rural area (OR: 4.93, 95% CI: 1.86-13.14), not using insecticide-treated nets (OR: 109.95, 95% CI: 49.43-271.73), not using indoor residual spraying (OR: 15.21, 95% CI: 3.25-271.35), first and second trimesters of gestation compared to third trimester (OR: 20.27, 95% CI: 7.33-61.29; OR: 2.75, 95% CI: 1.49-5.33 respectively) and presence of mosquito breeding site (OR = 99.75, 95% CI: 38.84-340) were associated with positive test on bivariate analysis. Following multivariate logistic regression, the presence of mosquito breeding sites (AOR: 21.89, 95% CI: 5.25-121.13), and not using insecticide-treated nets (AOR: 10.82, 95% CI: 3.13-40.37) remained significantly associated.

Conclusion: the prevalence of positive Plasmodium falciparum test is high among pregnant women. Numerous risk factors are associated with positive Plasmodium falciparum among these women.