CO-INFECTION OF MALARIA AND TYPHOID FEVER AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTER, OJO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, LAGOS, NIGERIA

Abstract

This research was carried out to investigate the co- infection of malaria and typhoid fever among pregnant women attending antenatal clinic at Primary Health Care centre (PHC), Oto-Awori LCDA in Ojo Local Government, Lagos. A total number of 170 blood samples of pregnant women were examined for the presence of malaria parasite and typhoid fever using standard methods and were thereafter compared with equal number of non pregnant women (170). The results showed that total number of 112 had malaria while 114 pregnant women tested positive to typhoid. From 170 pregnant women studied, the age group 16-25 years made up of 34 women (20.0 %), of which 7 had malaria only (12.2 %), 5 women had typhoid only (14.3 %), 18 women had both malaria and typhoid (22.8 %). Between 26-35 years age group which form 113 women (65.50 %), 23 had malaria only (69.7 %), 27 of the women had typhoid only (77.1 %), 50 of the women had malaria and typhoid (63.3 %). Whereas between 36-45 year age group which formed total 23 (13.5 %), malaria only and typhoid only recorded 3 positive value each with 9.1 % and 8.6 % respectively, while women with co-infection of both malaria and typhoid had 11 positive (13.9 %) and 6 women (26.1 %) in this group had neither malaria nor typhoid. The relationship between trimester and co-infection of malaria and typhoid among pregnant women, second (2nd) trimester recorded highest prevalence which made up of 107 women, 18 (54.5 %) were noted to have malaria only, 27 (77.1 %); typhoid only, 50 women were positive to both malaria and typhoid infections. However, highest co-infection of malaria and typhoid fever among 170 pregnant women, was observed in gravidal 2 in which 17 women (51.5 %) had malaria only, 11 women (31.4 %) had typhoid only, 20 women (25.3 %) had both malaria and typhoid, which total 48. In this study, it is evident that presumptive test of malaria and typhoid fever revealed the prevalence of the infections among the pregnant women.