Malaria in pregnancy in the Ndop health district (North West Region, Cameroon): results from retrospective and prospective surveys

Abstract

Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic disease that is entirely preventable and curable. Pregnant women are among the most vulnerable groups to this deadly disease. Increased efforts towards prevention and control of the disease have led in drastic reduction in mortality rates by 54% in the world health organisation (WHO) African Region. However, the widespread implementation of WHO policies remains highly challenging and the disease still persists despite the efforts of control programmes and stakeholders. The objective of the present study was to capture the situation of malaria during pregnancy in the Ndop health district (North West Region, Cameroon), and assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of pregnant women regarding this killer disease. Retrospective data was then collected between April and November, 2013 in all public and private health facilities’ registers of the Ndop health district, and pregnant women attending the Ndop district hospital interviewed about their knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding malaria. A total of 1,080 pregnant women, aged 14 to 46 years old attended the seven health facilities of the Ndop health district. The prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum infection in pregnant women was 19.3% (95% CI: 17.0 to 21.7%), with similar trends between age groups and periods (month) of health facility attendance, indicating a stable transmission throughout the period of performance of the survey. Also, different patterns in malaria transmission were observed between rural and urban areas, with huge infection rates in rural settings. Pregnant women were aware of the malaria prevention methods, the persistence of the infection suggesting that the WHO policy to defeat malaria is not fully applied. Key words: Malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, pregnant women, KAP, Ndop, North West, Cameroon.