Congenital malaria: an overview

Abstract

Congenital malaria is a public health concern globally. This report reviews publications on congenital malaria in the last two decades with the view to establishing the current global epidemiological trends and the public health implications. A Medline Entrez-PubMed search was performed and published studies on congenital malaria in the last two decades were identified. A combination of key words "congenital malaria" were used for the search which yielded 180 publications as of December 2010. Of the 180 publications, 93 were within the period 1990 to 2010. Bibliographies of all publications selected were checked for additional relevant references and were obtained and included in the review. The critical issues identified and discussed include the (i) current global trends of congenital malaria; (ii) controversies associated with the frequency of occurrence of congenital malaria; (iii) mechanism and clinical features; (iv) role of maternal HIV infection (v) effects of congenital malaria on infants; (vi) diagnostic challenges; and (vii) treatment considerations. Operational research into various aspects of congenital malaria is essentially lacking as many unresolved issues requiring urgent scientific investigation abound. Public health policy on malaria control should integrate guidelines on congenital malaria management and control. _____________________________________________________________________________________

Prevalence of congenital malaria in high-risk Ghanaian newborns: a cross-sectional study

“…Several hospital-based studies from the West African sub-region have reported high prevalence of malaria in newborns [23,24]. The reasons for the variable prevalence of congenital malaria in these countries of similar endemicity as Ghana are unclear.…”

Case Report: Severe Plasmodium vivax Malaria Mimicking Sepsis in a Neonate

“…Vertical transmission of malaria in a neonate is suspected if symptoms occurred within 7-30 days after birth and asexual parasites are found in the neonate's umbilical or peripheral blood. 4,[12][13][14] This infant started to have jaundice 7 days after birth and fever occurred at the age of 1.5 months. The interval between the birth and the onset of symptoms may be prolonged.…”

Plasmodium vivax congenital malaria in an area of very low endemicity in Guatemala: implications for clinical and epidemiological surveillance in a malaria elimination context

“…On rare occasions, clinical manifestations may appear within 10 to 42 days after birth [3]. In high endemic areas, passive transfer of maternal anti-malarial antibodies and the presence of foetal haemoglobin are thought to prevent disease by helping clearing parasitaemia in the newborn [4]. …”

“…There is not much consensus regarding its definition. It has been defined as the presence of asexual parasites in the neonate’s peripheral blood within the first seven days of life or later if there is no exposure to infected mosquito bites, with or without clinical symptoms or signs [4]. Also, CM is often reported as the presence of malaria parasites in cord blood [3].…”