Plasmodium falciparum infection among neonates in the North Central Region of Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: This cross-sectional study investigated the rate of congenital and neonatal malaria infections in patients attending our hospital. Methodology: Thick and thin blood films of 288 neonates admitted in the Special Care Baby Unit of Jos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria, were examined microscopically for malaria parasites. Babies' and mothers' demographic and clinical data were analyzed. Results: Of 288 blood samples examined, 160 (55.6%) were from males, 115 (39.9%) were from babies 0 to 7 days old, and 173 (60.1%) were from babies 8 to 28 days old. In total, 91 (31.6%) babies had malaria parasitaemia, of whom 49 (53.8%) were males. Malaria was significantly higher in babies 8 to 28 days old (p<0.001) and was independent of gender (p=0.692). Prevalence rates for congenital and neonatal malaria were 6.9% and 24.7% respectively. Clinical presentations on admission included fever, cough, pallor, jaundice, and inability to suck. A total of 145 (50.3%) babies had symptoms of malaria, of whom 56 (61.5%) had malaria parasitaemia. Symptoms of malaria were present in 35 (12.2%) babies of 59 (20.5%) mothers who had symptoms of malaria during pregnancy. Ten (11.0%) of these neonates had malaria parasitaemia, of whom 4 (0.4%) were 0 to -7days old. Plasmodium falciparum was the only specie identified. No mortality was recorded against malaria-infected babies. Conclusion: High prevalence of malaria in these neonates calls for high index of suspicion. Inclusion of malaria parasite test in the routine battery of tests for babies presenting with clinical signs and symptoms of neonatal infections is recommended.

Malaria in the New-born as Seen at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital: A Retrospective Review

“…This is in agreement with the findings of related studies, showing that occurrence of malaria is significantly higher during the period of heavy rainfall in endemic countries of Sub-Saharan Africa [9,16,22].…”

“…Several studies in Africa have demonstrated that 7-10% of the newborns may have malaria parasites in their cord blood. [7] Neonatal malaria has been reported to be prevalent in malaria endemic areas such as Nigeria, despite the protective effects of maternal antibodies transferred to the neonate and the protection of the fetal haemoglobin in inhibiting Plasmodium sp development in the newborn [8][9][10]. Incidence of Neonatal malaria has been reported to range from 6 -20% across Africa [10][11][12][13] and from 1.1% to 5.1% across Nigeria [10,13] Malaria is a serious health challenge, with serious socioeconomic consequences especially in Nigeria which contributes to about one-quarter of the cases in the malaria endemic countries [10].…”

Prevalence, Clinical Features and Outcome of Neonatal Malaria in Two Major Hospitals in Jos, North-Central Nigeria

“…The remaining one patient responded to Quinine. This good outcome of treatment is similar to those in studies in Zaria and reflects the mild course of the disease in neonates with low parasite density and the high sensitivity of the parasite to amodiaquine [16] [17].…”

“…That means that the percentage of positive blood smears was actually 53% which is really high and underscores the fact that retrospective studies are often fraught with pitfalls in methodology. Another retrospective study in Jos also reported a higher prevalence of 31.6% [16]. That study in Jos also demonstrated sampling bias because only subjects suspected to have neonatal malaria based on clinical features, mainly fever were recruited.…”

Le paludisme congénital maladie à Plasmodium falciparum : aspects épidémiologiques, cliniques, biologiques, thérapeutiques et pronostiques à Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

“…Dans le paludisme congénital maladie, la fièvre a une fréquence variable qui va de rare (8,4%) [10] à constante (100%) [16, 18], les différences entre les études pouvant être dues au mode de recrutement des patients. Avec moins de la moitié des nouveau-nés qui étaient fébriles dans notre étude, le PCM paraît simuler une infection néonatale bactérienne.…”