Microbiology Research Journal International

Background: Malaria is a vector-borne illness that is caused by the Plasmodium Parasite. There are many Plasmodium species but only five affect human, of which Plasmodium falciparum is most deadly. Plasmodium falciparum is mostly found in Africa and is mostly the cause of malaria-related mortality in both pregnant women and children. Malaria in pregnancy poses serious public health issues especially in developing countries, causing increase in perinatal morbidity and mortality, significantly. In sub-Saharan Africa, malaria accounts for over 90% of all malaria-related deaths, with children under the age of five accounting for nearly 85% of these deaths worldwide. Due to the natural immune system decline that occurs during pregnancy, pregnant women are more vulnerable to malaria.

Methods: A structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain the socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics of the patients, with the assistance of the health officials and permission from both patients and authorities. The aim of the Study was to determine the prevalence of malaria parasitemia among pregnant women in Imo state, while considering the associated risk factors. The study was designed to determine the prevalence of malaria parasitemia and investigate the risk factors for malaria parasitemia among pregnant women who visited antenatal clinics at Federal Medical Center, Owerri, Holy Rosary Hospital, Emekuku, General Hospital, Okigwe, General Hospital, Ihitte-Uboma, Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu and General Hospital, Orlu. The study was carried out from July 2024 to December 2024. A total of 900 blood samples were collected from pregnant women in the various Hospitals. The risk factors studied in relation to the prevalence of malaria parasitemia are age, gravidity, hemoglobin concentration, literacy level, blood group and trimester. Thick films made from blood collected from each pregnant woman, were stained using the Giemsa staining technique for detecting malaria parasites in blood. Data generated was analyzed using minitab statistical package and excel.

Result: From the result obtained from this study, the prevalence of malaria among pregnant women in Imo state was 24.3%, highest among patients between 21-25years of age. Pregnant women in primigrvid had a significant higher risk of malarial infection than secondi gravid and multigravid.The malaria prevalence determined in this study by hemoglobin concentration did not show significant difference among the different hemoglobin concentrations. The malaria prevalence determined in this study by literacy level did not show significant difference among the different literacy levels used in this study. Women with primary education had 38.3%; those with secondary and tertiary education had 11.56% and 11.43% respectively.The prevalence of malaria parasitemia in relation to ABO blood group was 41.3% for pregnant women of bloodgroup ‘O’; 5.2% for blood group ‘A’; 19.1% for blood group ‘B’.Also, 1^st trimester had highest prevalence with 25.2% but was not significantly higher than 2^nd and 3^rd trimester.

Conclusion: From these results, it can be concluded that the risk factors; age (21-25years), trimester (1st), gravid status (primid) and bloodgroup (O⁺) are mostly associated to increasing prevalence of malaria parasitemia amongst pregnant women in Imo State. This study has shown that malaria is one of the major public health challenges among pregnant women in Imo State Nigeria, leading to inestimable economic and social losses.