International conference on multidisciplinary science

HAEMOPARASITIC INFECTIONS: RISK FACTORS AND EFFECTS ON PACKED CELL VOLUME OF PREGNANT WOMEN IN SAMARU, ZARIA (HAEMOPARASITIC INFECTIONS IN PREGNANT WOMEN)

Henry Gabriel Bishop

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

Mathias Agbam

Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria

##semicolon## Haemoparasites, Plasmodium falciparum, Trypanosoma, pregnant women, anaemia, packed cell volume.

---

सार

Pregnant women in Nigeria still suffer a great burden of Plasmodium falciparum and Trypanosoma brucei gambiense infections. However, malaria is one of the dominant diseases during pregnancy. These haemoparasites affect both maternal and  foetal health. Structured questionnaires on socio-demographic and risk factors of haemoparasitic infections were administered on  125 consented pregnant women between the ages of 16-45 years in Samaru, Zaria. Each participant's venous blood sample (2ml)  was collected and average packed cell volume (PCV) was determined. The samples were examined for haemoparasites on thin and  thick blood smears stained with Giemsa dye using oil immersion (100x) objective of the light microscope. Only two types of haemoparasites were detected: Plasmodium falciparum (47.2%) and Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (4.0%), with a co-infection of 0.8%. Plasmodium falciparum infections were found across all the age-groups, but the youngest of pregnant women within 16-20 years and 21-25 years were the most infected. Women in their first trimester of pregnancy were significantly most infected with P. falciparum  (P=0.047). Women without  formal  education  (75.0%)  as well  as  those  that were unemployed  (48.1%) had  more  haemoparasites.  Living  in  houses  surrounded  by  stagnant  water  and  involvement  in  unprotected  farming  were  risks  for haemoparasitic infections. The prevalence of anaemia among the pregnant women was 45.6%. The presence of P. falciparum was statistically related to low PCV of 21-30% which was indicative of anaemia (P=0.000). Also, among the women with low PCV,  there was higher occurrence of T. b. gambiense with a case of co-infection. Pregnant women should be encouraged to enroll for ante-natal checkup at early stage of pregnancy. Parasitological examination during the ante-natal visits should not be limited to malaria alone: other neglected tropical diseases should be checked for and treated adequately.

---

##submission.citations##

World Health Organization (2000). Implementation of the global malaria control strategy. Report of a WHO study group on the implementation of the global plan of action for malaria control, 1993-2000, 3993, pp. 1-58.

http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/37106/1/WHO_ TRS_839_eng.pdf.

WHO (2017). Malaria in pregnant women. Accessed on 20th August, 2018 from

http://www.who.int/malaria/areas/high_risk_groups/preg nancy/en/

Steketee, R.W., Nahlen, B.L., Parise, M.E. and Menendez, C. (2001). The malaria burden in pregnancy in malaria-edemic areas. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 64(1,2):28-35.

Bishop, H.G. and Aliyu, A.G. (2017). Menace of haemo- parasitic infections in pregnant women attending Unguwa Uku Clinic and Maternity Hospital, Kano- Nigeria. International Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2(2) 65-74. DOI: 10.11648/j.ijmb.20170202.13

Anchang-Kimbi, J.K., Nkweti V.N., Ntonifor, H.N., Apinjoh T.O., Tata, R.B., Chi, H.F. and Achidi, E.A. (2015). Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia and malaria among pregnant women at first clinic visit in the mount Cameroon Area. BMC Infectious Diseases, 15(439):

CDC (2016). Sleeping sickness. Accessed on 20th August, 2018 from: http://www.who.int/news- room/fact-sheets/detail/trypanosomiasis-human-african- (sleeping-sickness)

WHO (2018). Human African trypanosomiasis. Global health observatory data. Accessed on 20th August, 2018 from:

http://www.who.int/gho/neglected_diseases/human_afri can_trypanosomiasis/en/

McClean G.H. (2012). Parasitaemia risk factors associated with foetal death during pregnancy. Journal of Infection and Diseases, 26(1):454-477.

Ouédraogo, S., Koura, G.K., Accrombessi, M.M.K., Bodeau-Livinec, F., Massougbodji, A. and Cot, M. (2012). Maternal anaemia at first antenatal visit: prevalence and risk factors in a malaria -endemic area in Benin. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 87(3):418-424.

Zehra, T., Khan, R.A. and Qadir, F. (2014). Anaemia in pregnancy a study of Karachi in a tertiary care center. American Journal of Phytomedicine and Clinical Therapeutics, 2(10):1224- 1233

Cox, F.E.G. (2002). History of Human Parasitology. Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 15: 4 595-612. DOI: 10.1128/CMR.15.4.595-612.2002.

Cheesbrough, M. (2009). District Laboratory Practice in Tropical Countries, Part I, 2nd ed. Updated, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

WHO (1986). WHO expert committee on malaria 18th report. World Health Organisation technical report series 735.

Koura, K.G., Ouédraogo, S., Cottrell, G., Le Port, A., Massougbodji, A. and Garcia, A. (2012). Maternal anaemia at delivery and haemoglobin evolution in children during their first 18 month of life using latent class analysis. PLoS ONE, 7(11): e50136.