DIAGNOSTIC COMPARISON OF MALARIAL INFECTION IN PLACENTAL BLOOD AND PLACENTAL BIOPSIES AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN DELIVERING WITHIN KATSINA METROPOLIS, NIGERIA.

Abstract

The burden posed by placental malaria to the health sector is growing at an alarming rate due to lack of available tools that could be used in detecting and identifying the magnitude of placental malaria prior to delivery.  The present study was a cross-sectional study, where 300 consented pregnant women were involved as study subjects. Peripheral and placental blood samples, and a 2 cm × 2 cm piece of placental biopsy were collected. Histopathology is a useful method of grading chronological changes of a placenta caused by P. falciparum infections. From the findings of the present studies 60.7% of the placentas examined had Active infections (presence of both malaria parasite and pigment), 31.1 % had past infection (presence of only malaria pigment) while only a minimal number (8.3%) had present infection (presence of only parasite). Also the presence of only malaria parasites (present infection) with in the placental tissues examined was found to show positive correlation with presence of malaria parasitemia in placental blood  (r = 0.430), being primigravidae (r = 0.512) and with study participants within the age group of 14 – 25 years (r = 0.485). The relationship of an active infection and having placental blood parasitemia with being a secundigravidae shows a statistically significant (p = 0.000) positive correlation (0.248 and 0.201) respectively, The relationship of having a past infection and being a multigravidae, and within the age group of 26 -35 years and 36 – 47 years shows statistically significant positive correlation.The statistically significant correlation observed between the presence of malaria parasite with in placental tissues and the presence of high level of malaria parasite with in the placental blood of such participants is observed to be influenced by many other factors among which includes maternal age and gravidity level.