Prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum Parasitaemia in Exclusively Breastfed Children Aged 0-6 Month in the Ouidah Kpomassè-Tori-Bossito Health Region in Benin

Exclusive breastfeeding would reduce susceptibility to malaria according to several studies. The objective of this study was to assess Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) parasitaemia in children under 6 months exclusively breastfed in southern Benin. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 from February to August. We randomly selected 106 exclusively breastfed children aged from 0 to 6 months in the Ouidah-Kpomasse-Tori-Bossito health region (OKT) in southern Benin. 24 h recall method was used to identify exclusively breastfed children. Plasmodium was detected by a thick drop, blood smear and a real time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). The children average age was 2.2 months. The sex ratio (M/F) was 1. The prevalence of P. falciparum malaria was 0.9%. One child had fever and positive parasitaemia with gametocytes confirmed by qPCR at 27 Cycle threshold (Ct). This child was 4.2 months old and slept under mosquito bed net. There was no asymptomatic parasitaemia among all the children. The prevalence of P. falciparum parasitaemia in exclusively breastfed children, that was lower than the average prevalence in southern Benin, the practice of breastfeeding should be encouraged and strengthened. Future studies with objective measure of breast milk could help to better classify exclusive breastfeeding.