PREVALENCE OF MALARIA AND INTESTINAL HELMINTHS CO-INFECTION IN PREGNANT WOMEN

Abstract

Malaria and intestinal helminth infections pose serious public health problems and the diseases are endemic especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. They are mainly related with poverty, poor environmental sanitation and personal hygiene. Co-infection of these parasites could be severe in pregnant women with complicated cases of anaemia, low birth weight, risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. Intestinal helminth infection could compromise the immunity of a pregnant woman and inform malaria severity. In this study, a cross-sectional survey was conducted, five (5) hospitals were randomly selected from fifteen (15) identified Hospitals and Maternity Centres within Kontagora town and of the about 3500 patients’ records retrieved from these Hospitals, one thousand (1000) were selected. In this study, patients’  records were retrieved from the Hospitals’ Laboratories and Records Department and Questionnaire was adopted to obtain socio-demographic information. Five (5) species of  Intestinal helminths were identified as P. falciparum was the cause of malaria at 69.3%. The overall prevalence of the helminths was 55.9% and co-infection was at 28%.  Ascaris lumbricoides at 38.5% was the most abundant and Schistosoma spp (7.4%) was the least.  There was a significant correlation between malaria and intestinal helminth. Results from this study shed light on the need for improvement of ongoing interventions as elimination strategies in line with grass root experiences must be adopted.