A total of 130 blood samples were collected from the mothers and their newborn babies and examined for malaria parasite using both thin and thick films. Maternal packed cell volume (PCV), and genotype was also determined using haematocrit method and cellulose acetate electrophoresis respectively. The prevalence rate of maternal, fetal, placental and cord parasitaemia were 37(28.46%), 29(22.31%), 33(25.38%) and 30(23.08%) respectively. Malaria infected maternal blood had a mild reduction in PCV level (p<0.05). Genotype showed strong correlation with maternal, fetal, placental and cord parasitaemia (p<0.05). However, the effect of malaria prophylaxis was shown to be more protective for the placental parasitaemia (p<0.

No abstract

No abstract