Prevalence of Malaria Parasitaemia in Peripheral and Placental Blood Samples of Pregnant Women in Relation to their Age Group and Gravidity, Katsina State

Abstract

Malaria during pregnancy is a serious public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for an estimated 10,000 maternal deaths and about 200,000 infant mortalities annually. Pregnant women living in areas with stable malaria endemicity often remain asymptomatic, thus making placental malaria difficult to recognize and diagnose. The present study aimed to analyse the prevalence of malaria parasitaemia in both peripheral and placental blood of pregnant women living in the vicinity of Katsina State, in relation to their age groups and gravidity. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 300 consented pregnant women. The analysis of malaria parasitaemia was carried out using the thick blood smear (peripheral and placental blood samples). The results revealed that the majority of the participant 222 (74.0%), showed positive results for malaria parasite in their placental blood smear, while 180 (60.0 %) of the peripheral blood smears indicated a malaria positive result. Malaria parasitaemia was observed to be more virulent among primigravidae 95.8% (peripheral blood) and 100% (placental blood), followed by secundigravidae 37 (72.5%) and 41 (80.4%), and among participants who are especially within the age group of 14 – 25 and 26 – 35 years. From the results of the present study, the high level of malaria parasitaemia that was observed within the placental blood samples is a result of the sequestered parasites embedded within the intervillous space of the placenta, thus indicating a high level of placental malaria, especially among the young participants and primigravida.