Prevalence of Malaria in Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic in Primary Health Centres in Lagos. South West, Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Malaria infection during pregnancy is a significant public health problem, and pregnancy is known to alter the immune response of women to malaria primarily in tropical and sub-tropical regions; with substantial risks for the mother, her foetus and the newborn. The study investigated the prevalence of malaria infection in pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic in primary health care centers in Lagos State. Methods: Malaria test was carried out on the participants, using Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test RDT (Pf Pan kits) and thick and thin blood films were made from each participant on a slide for parasitaemia. Results: A total of 202 participants were screened for the malaria parasite. The prevalence of malaria in the study participants was 4(2%).  Out of the 4 participants that were infected with malaria 3 had Plasmodium falciparum and 1 had Plasmodium ovale species. The geometric mean parasite density was 309.5 parasite/µl of blood while the mean body temperature was 36.4±0.28°C. None of the participants had fever. Haematocrit was standard for most of the participants 186 (94.0%) while mild and moderate anaemia was observed in 8(4.0%) and 4(2.0%) of the participants respectively. Conclusion: In conclusion, malaria prevalence was very low among the pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Lagos, the Participants had good knowledge that the transmission of malaria is by mosquitoes.