Prevalence of <i>Plasmodium falciparum</i> Submicroscopic Infection and Pregnancy Outcomes in Congolese Women at Delivery

Abstract

Suphodoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) acts by inhibiting P. falciparum replication, therefore, long term use of SP in malarial endemic sittings as intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) during pregnancy might lead to increased risk of submicroscopic parasitaemia. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of submicroscopic P. falciparum infection in women at delivery from southern Brazzaville, where IPT-SP has been implemented since 2004, and investigate the relationship between the submicroscopic parasitaemia and pregnancy outcomes. This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from March 2014 to April 2015 with 281 women randomly recruited at delivery at a Health Centre in southern Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. Matched peripheral, placental, and cord blood collected from each women with malaria negative thick smears, were used for the diagnostic of P.falciparum submicroscopic infection by nested-polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) targeting the multi-copy 18 S ribosomal ARN gene. The prevalence of P.falciparum submicroscopic infection was 31.7%, 36.37%, and 12.9%, when using the peripheral, placental, and cord blood respectively. The submicroscopic P. falciparum was slightly associated with increased risk of maternal anaemia (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.33, 95% CI 0.82-2.17). No significant association was found between the submicroscopic parasitaemia and low birth weight, or preterm delivery. The data suggest that the prevalence of submicroscopic P. falciparum infection is high in women at delivery in Brazzaville; and might increase the risk for maternal anaemia. The infection had no impact on the prevalence of low birth weight and preterm delivery in this study sitting.

Chemokine modulation in microscopic and submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection in women at delivery in Yaoundé, Cameroon

“…Most of the previous cytokines /chemokines identified as Plasmodium related markers are involved in different pathophysiological pathways, and thus, lack specificity to malaria infection. In addition, the majority of these cytokines/chemokines have not yet been analysed in relation with submicroscopic malaria parasitaemia, although high proportion of malaria infected pregnant women from sub-Saharan Africa are known to be asymptomatic, and bearing mostly submicroscopic parasitaemia [ 20 , 21 ]. The present study therefore aimed to analyze the plasma levels of the pregnancy-associated chemokines CXCL-4, CXCL-13, CXCL-16, and CCL-24 in matched peripheral, placental, and cord blood, in relation with PM including submicroscopic parasitaemia and pregnancy outcomes, in women reporting for delivery in Yaoundé, Cameroon.…”