Asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection in University undergraduate students

Abstract

Background: Malaria infection still remains a notable health problem in resource-limited countries due to difficulties in the implementation of control measures. This was a prospective study designed to assess the prevalence of asymptomatic P. falciparum malaria infection in premedical undergraduate students at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Nnewi, Nigeria. Methods: A total of 180 consenting apparently healthy subjects (male=90), female=90) aged 18-30 years were randomly recruited for this study. One millimeters of blood sample was collected from each of these participants and dispensed into EDTA bottle for P.falciparum malaria parasite screening using thick and thin film Giemsa staining technique and HRP2Pf rapid antigen diagnostic test kit (Access Bio Inc., USA). Results: Ninety nine (99) of these participants tested positive for asymptomatic P. falciparum malaria giving a prevalent rate of 55% while 81 subjects were uninfected and served as control The prevalence was higher in males (54.5%), underweight (46.5%) (P<0.0001) and among students aged 18-21 years (48.5%) followed by overweight (30.3%) students (P=0.039). Only (33.9%) of all the students used insecticide treated net (ITNs) (P=0.008). Conclusions: The present study showed high prevalence rate of asymptomatic P. falciparum malaria infection among university students who continuously served as reservoir for transmission to the uninfected ones which might progress to disease severity if left untreated.