Prevalence of asymptomatic Plasmodium species infection and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Fendeka town health facilities, Jawi District, North west Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background Malaria in pregnancy remains a major public health problem especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In malaria endemic areas, majority of pregnant women may remain asymptomatic but still associated with complications on the mother and her foetus. They also serve as reservoirs and act as transmitters of infection. Despite these effects, the prevalence of asymptomatic Plasmodium species infections among pregnant women attending antenatal care has not been yet studied at the study area. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of asymptomatic Plasmodium species infections among pregnant women attending antenatal care at Fendeka town health facilities. Methods Health facility based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to March 2019. A total of 331 participants were enrolled by using convenient sampling technique. Sociodemographic and associated factors were collected by a face to face interview. All the 331 samples were tested using rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and microscopy. However, only 83 dried blood spot (DBS) samples out of 331 participants, were collected by using systematic random sampling technique for molecular analysis. Data was analysed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic Plasmodium species infections. Univariate logistic regression was employed to assess factors associated with asymptomatic Plasmodium species infection. Variables with P-value < 0.25 in the univariate logistic regression were selected for multivariate logistic regression analysis model. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated and P-values < 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.

Prevalence of malaria and associated factors among symptomatic pregnant women attending antenatal care at three health centers in north-west Ethiopia

“…Pregnant women in the first trimester of pregnancy were at increased odds of having malaria than women in third trimester. This finding is in line with the study in Mali [ 20 ], Jawi district, northwestern Ethiopia [ 13 ] and Benishangul Gumuz, northwest Ethiopia [ 24 ]. In relation to gravidity, primigravidae were at higher odds of developing symptomatic malaria compared to multi-gravidae.…”

“…In relation to gravidity, primigravidae were at higher odds of developing symptomatic malaria compared to multi-gravidae. Similar association was found in studies done in Mozambique [ 25 ], Ghana [ 18 ], Burkina Faso [ 19 ], Jawi district, northwestern Ethiopia [ 13 ] and Benishangul Gumuz, northwestern Ethiopia [ 24 ].…”

“…This finding is in agreement with the study done in Benishangul Gumuz, northwest Ethiopia [ 24 ]. However, according to the studies done in Burkina Faso [ 19 ] and Jawi district, northwestern Ethiopia [ 13 ], the association between bed net utilization and malaria was not significant. This variation might be due to higher coverage and utilization of LLINs in the above studies compared to the present study (72% versus 37%, respectively).…”

“…The prevalence of malaria among asymptomatic pregnant women has been well documented in Ethiopia [ 13 – 16 ]. However, prevalence among symptomatic pregnant women remains poorly considered.…”

Prevalence of asymptomatic malaria and associated factors in Ethiopia: Systematic review and meta-analysis

“… 25 The age group used for analysis was not consistent across the studies. Of the 14 studies included in the final analysis, 7 were conducted in Amhara Region, 26 – 32 4 in SNNPR, 24 , 33 – 35 2 in Oromia, 25 , 36 and 1 in Benishangul-Gumuz. 37 Fifty percent of the studies were community-based.…”