Malaria During Pregnancy

Abstract

Background: It is widely recognised that pregnant women have an increased risk of falciparum malaria infection and disease. However, very little is known about the burden of P. vivax in pregnancy and its impact on maternal and child health. In this study the prevalence of submicroscopic P. vivax infections during pregnancy was assessed. Methods: and Findings The study was carried out as part of a multicentre collaborative cohort study [PregVax, funded by the European Union (Project 201588) and the Malaria in Pregnancy Consortium] that aims to estimate the burden of P. vivax infection in pregnancy and its impact on maternal and foetal outcomes, in five P. vivax endemic countries: Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and India. Pregnant women were enrolled at each site at the routine antenatal care and followed up until delivery. Blood samples were collected for detection of malaria infection and anaemia determination. Demographic, obstetrical and clinical information was obtained. In a subsample of 1500 pregnant women (500 per site) the prevalence of submicroscopic P. vivax infection at recruitment was assessed by real time PCR. Preliminary data on the prevalence of submicroscopic P. vivax infection was 14.7% (15/102), 2.2% (2/92), 12% (12/99) and 24.6% (29/118) in Guatemala, Colombia, Brazil and PNG, respectively. Further data on prevalence of infection and association with pregnancy outcomes will be presented at the symposium for all sites. Conclusions: The preliminary findings of this study show that the prevalence of P. vivax infection during pregnancy may be higher than expected. These findings contribute to better knowledge on the burden of P. vivax infection during pregnancy in low transmission areas. This evidence may be of help to guide the identification, development and implementation of effective malaria control strategies throughout gestation in endemic settings.