Prevalence and risk factors for prenatal parasitic infections and anaemia among pregnant women in Kaduna State, Nigeria

In developing nations, anaemia is one of the most prevalent medical conditions. It has long been known that parasite infection during pregnancy is one  of the main causes of anaemia and an elevated risk of maternal mortality. To ascertain the prevalence and risk factors related to parasite infections and  anaemia among pregnant women receiving prenatal care in some selected public health facilities in Kaduna State, Nigeria, an eleven-month cross-  sectional study of 180 consenting pregnant women was conducted from February to December 2017. A standardized questionnaire was used to interview  the sampled pregnant women. Stool and blood samples of each consented pregnant woman were collected. Formal-ether sedimentation  technique, thin and thick blood smears and haematocrit packed cell volume capillary methods were used to screen intestinal helminth parasites,   plasmodium species and Packed Cell Volume (PCV) respectively. The result obtained showed parasitic infections prevalence of 102(56.7%) among the  study population. Prevalence of Plasmodium species, hookworm, Ascaris lumbricoides and those with co-infection all occurred at 47.2%, 16.7%, 17.8% and  25.0% respectively. Age, educational level, trimester and parity were all significant predictors of Plasmodium species prevalence (p<0.005). Similarly,  parity and educational level were significantly (p<0.005) associated with the prevalence of intestinal parasites and co-infection. Anaemia was present in  40.0% of the examined pregnant women. Trimester and educational level were highly significant (p<0.001) predictors of anaemia among the sampled  pregnant women. Plasmodium species were the most common parasitic species associated with anaemia as 43.1% of Plasmodium species-infected  pregnant women had anaemia compared to those with intestinal helminth infection (30.6%) and co-infection (13.3%). However, statistical analysis  revealed a significant association (p<0.05) between the prevalence of anaemia and intestinal helminth infection. Therefore, measures such as improved  sanitation and health education are needed to lessen the prevalence of parasitic infections and parasite-related anaemia in the study area.