ASSESSMENT OF TOXOPLASMOSIS AND MALARIA IN CORD BLOOD IN RIVERS STATE UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL, PORT HARCOURT
Abstract
Cord blood which is the blood contained in the placenta after delivery contain lots of stem cells and congenital pathogens causing congenital infections. Toxoplasmosis and malaria are among the most common congenital infections globally especially in developing countries like Nigeria. This study gives an assessment of Toxoplasma gondii and malaria parasite in cord blood in relation to maternal and child factors. This random study was carried out on 180 cord blood collected from neonatal cord in the labour ward having obtained ethical approval from the Ethics Committee of the Rivers State Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt. Samples were analysed by the detection of the malaria parasites on giemsa-stained blood smears by light microscopy while detection of toxoplasmosis was by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on detection of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii IgG in cord blood. Maternal and child factors were obtained using well-structured questionnaire. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used in the statistical analysis. The overall prevalence of toxoplasmosis and malaria were 36.7% and 21.1% respectively. Co-infection of toxoplasmosis and malaria in cord blood was 7.2%. Prevalence of toxoplasmosis and malaria in this study was not significantly influenced by maternal age, level of education and occupation. However the rate of infection with toxoplasmosis and malaria in cord blood were observed to be significantly associated with birth weight as newborns with low birth weight of 1.6-2.5kg recorded the highest prevalence of 25% and 26.1% for toxoplasmosis and malaria respectively. In this study, the prevalence of toxoplasmosis and malaria was high hence, creating awareness through health campaigns for toxoplasmosis and malaria and its effects on newborns should be conducted at regular intervals. In addition, regular routine testing and treatment should be carried out for pregnant women to reduce the rate of congenital transmission of these parasites.
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