Prevalence of congenital malaria among newborn babies at Morogoro Regional Hospital, Morogoro, Tanzania

Abstract

Congenital malaria is increasingly reported among babies born to mothers residing in malaria endemic areas despite the fact that maternal antibodies block malaria parasites from crossing the placenta into the foetus. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of congenital malaria among newborn babies delivered at Morogoro Regional Hospital, Tanzania. A cross-sectional study involving 200 women was conducted among pregnant women attending delivery services at the hospital. Socio-demographic and obstetric information of the mothers was also collected. Samples of the placental, cord and peripheral blood smears of mothers and babies were stained with Giemsa and examined for malaria parasites. Results showed that, prevalence of congenital malaria among newly born babies was 4.0% (n = 190). Prevalence rate of placental parasitemia was 7.0% (n = 184), while prevalence of cord parasitemia was 0.5% (n = 184). Prevalence rate of malaria among the mothers at delivery was 11.5% (n = 184). Plasmodiun falciparum was the dominant malaria parasite species. There was a strong association between placental, cord, maternal and congenital parasitemia whereby all babies with congenital malaria had infected mothers and placentas (p < 0.01). In conclusion, congenital malaria is still common in Tanzania especially in malaria endemic areas. It is recommended that, all malaria prevention and control programmes for pregnant women should adhere to the WHO guidelines involving intermittent presumptive treatment of pregnant women with an effective ant-malarial drug, prompt management of all cases and use of insecticide treated bed nets.