Evaluation of the Haematological Profile of Children Under Five (5) Years Infected with Malaria Attending Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano-Nigeria

Abstract

Malaria is a serious public health concern worldwide, particularly in hyper endemic areas of tropical and subtropical regions, including Nigeria. This study investigated haematological profile of children under five (5) years infected with malaria attending Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital, Kano-Nigeria. Venous blood was aseptically collected from the ante-cubital vein. Thick and thin blood films were prepared and viewed under a light microscope to identify and quantify the malaria parasites. The study involved 160 children randomly selected: comprising of 80 malaria positive and 80 negative children. Full blood count was estimated using SYSMEX auto-hematology analyzer (Lincolnshire, Illinois U.S.A.). The results showed that red blood cells were statistically lower in malaria infected (3.64±1.09×10⁶/µL) compared to the controls (4.16±0.86×10⁶/µL). Haemoglobin concentration (HGB) of malaria infected children was also lower (8.78±3.14g/dl) than that of the control group (10.56±2.33g/dl). Similarly, hematocrit percentage of the infected children was significantly lower (25.58±6.28%) compared to the controls of (27.03±7.35%). The platelet count (PLT) of the malaria children were also lower in the case group (172.27±120.65×10³/µL) compared to the controls with (240.73±143.23×10³/µL), (P>0.05). While the total White Blood Cell counts (WBC) and its differentials did not show any statistically significant difference between the malaria infected and the controls (p>0.05). This study clearly demonstrated that malaria significantly affects the haematological profile of children under five years of age leading to anemia and thrombocytopenia, with no effects on the white blood cells and differentials.