Prevalence of Malaria Parasitaemia in Pregnant Women WHO Attended General Hospital Shendam, Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Malaria infection during pregnancy is a major public health problem in tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world. The study was designed to determine the prevalent of malaria parasitaemia among pregnant women who attended general hospital in shendam, Jos, Plateau State of Nigeria between the period of January and March, 2016. Participation was voluntary, pregnant women who gave consent to be part of the study were randomly selected. Questionnaires were distributed to the subjects to obtained demographic data. Blood samples were collected; thin and thick blood films were made and stained using Giemsa stain. The blood films were examined using oil immersion objective. The study revealed that an overall 5.6% of the 250 pregnant women were found to have malaria infections. It was found that women between the ages of 20-23 years had the highest prevalence of 2.0%. Highest prevalence of 3.6% was also recorded in non-formal education women. The results also showed that pregnant women in the first trimester recorded the highest prevalence of 4.8%. The study concludes that the low prevalence might be due to the intermittent prophylaxis given to pregnant women on antenatal care (ANC) and the use of long lasting insecticidal net by most pregnant women.