BackgroundMalaria during pregnancy remains a serious public health problem, with substantial risks for the mother, her foetus and the newborn. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of malaria and possible risk factors for malaria infection among pregnant women in a semi-urban area in north-western Nigeria. Pregnant women are among the most susceptible to malaria infection. Knowledge of their malaria infection status is an important yardstick to measure the effectiveness of any malaria control programme.MethodsWe conducted a cross sectional study in the semi-urban area of Argungu, Kebbi State Nigeria. Two hundred and fifty five pregnant women were included in the study after informed verbal consent was obtained. For each participant, the socio-demographic profile, stage of pregnancy and attitude to the use of insecticide- treated nets (ITNs) were investigated using a questionnaire. Peripheral blood samples were collected and thick blood smears were prepared and stained with Giemsa stains to check for malaria parasitaemia. The associations between age, education level and use of ITNs with occurrence of malaria infection during pregnancy were analysed using the chi-square test.ResultsOne hundred and six (41.6%) out of 255 pregnant women were infected with malaria parasites, with a mean parasite density of 800 parasitesμl−1. It was found that prevalence and parasite density decreased as age increased. The chi-square test indicated that a lack of education and non-usage of ITNs were significantly associated with malaria infection.ConclusionMalaria is still a major public health issue among pregnant women mainly due to illiteracy and non -compliance to using ITNs. Increasing awareness about malaria preventive measures and early attendance of antenatal care services will help to reduce malaria and, consequently, its associated morbidities and mortalities.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40249-015-0054-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A survey was conducted to determine the prevalence of HIV/AIDS related opportunistic infections from the patients attending the five major Hospitals in Kebbi State , which included Federal Medical Center (FMC), Birnin Kebbi, Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital (SYMH), Birnin Kebbi, General Hospital, Argungu (GHA), General Hospital , Yauri (GHY) and General Hospital , Zuru (GHZ). The screening for the HIV/AID was done using the Genic II HIV-1/HIV -2 Test and the screening for opportunistic infections was done using thin and thick blood films, direct wet mount, formal ether concentration technique and modified Ziehl -Neelsen (ZN) technique. Microbial Pathogens were isolated through culture and identified through gram staining and biochemical tests. Out of the 1950 patients screened for HIV/AIDS infection, 606 (31.6%) were positive. Higher prevalence 195 (32.2%) was from FMC and the lowest from GHY 90 (15%). The result revealed that 374 (61.7%) of HIV/AIDS positive patients were also positive to one or more opportunistic infections. In this respect, higher prevalence of 32.3% was observed from FMC and the lowest was observed from SYMH with 13.9%. The result of the study also revealed the presence of malarial (Plasmodium) parasites with prevalence of (75.9%).The Federal Medical Centre (FMC) had the highest prevalence of 29.5%, SYMH, 21.7%, GHA, 17.2%, GHY, 16.1 and lastly GHZ with 15.4%. There is therefore the need for urgent positive control programme of HIV and HIV related opportunistic infections.

No abstract

No abstract