Abstract
BackgroundThis study determined the rate of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV among HIV positive women with placenta malaria and factors associated with placenta malaria.MethodsThis was a prospective observational study of booked HIV positive pregnant women in labour. A smear for malaria parasite was made from blood taken from the placental tissue post-delivery. The baby HIV testing was done with DNA polymerase chain reaction at 6 weeks postpartum. Data on age, parity, gestational age, religion, address, highest educational attainment and knowledge about malaria prevention in pregnancy was obtained with questionnaires and analysed using SPSS version 20. The P-value was set at 0.05 providing a confidence interval of 95%.ResultsA total of 174 booked HIV women participated in this study. The placental malaria parasitaemia prevalence was 44.8%. Overall rate of MTCT of HIV infection was 17.2%. Number of infants with HIV infection among women with maternal placental malarial parasitaemia was 30/78 (38.5%), while it was 0/96 (0%) for women without placenta malaria. There was significant relationship between placenta malaria density and infant HIV status (P-value = 0.001). The relative risk for MTCT of HIV for women with placenta malaria Density > 5000 was 25% with 95% confidence interval of 11.41–54.76%.ConclusionThe mother-to-child transmission rate of HIV was high among HIV positive women with placental malaria parasitaemia. There is the need to review the malarial treatment and prophylactic measures at least in this group of women and to establish the nature of relationship between placenta malaria and MTCT of HIV infection.
Highlights
This study determined the rate of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of human immune deficiency virus (HIV) among HIV positive women with placenta malaria and factors associated with placenta malaria
Seventy-eight (44.8%) had placenta malaria and 30 (17.2%) of the infants tested positive to HIV infection at 6 weeks
This study showed a significant difference in the rate of MTCT of HIV among the users of Insecticide-treated net (ITN) and no users
Summary
This study determined the rate of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV among HIV positive women with placenta malaria and factors associated with placenta malaria. It is estimated that malaria and HIV infection directly or indirectly contribute to more than 4 million deaths per year [1]. In Africa HIV/AIDS is more prevalent in woman (60%) [2,3,4]. Malaria during pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa, affects an estimated 24 million pregnant women; malaria prevalence, may exceed 50% among primigravid and secundigravid woman in malaria-endemic areas [6] and this has generated concern about the potential interactions with HIV infection, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Other studies have documented faster HIV disease progression and higher viral load among pregnant women with malaria infection. Several studies have documented the fetal complications of placental malaria parasitemia and the association between maternal HIV status and fetal outcome [11,12,13,14,15]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
