Malaria, gastrointestinal parasite infection and nutritional status among febrile children In Accra, Ghana

INTRODUCTION: Malaria and intestinal parasite infection are common in developing countries. These Parasites causes anaemia and malnutrition mostly in children. For this reason, it is important to study these infections and their effects in order to monitor interventions to control them. This study aims to determine prevalence of malaria and intestinal parasite infections and their association with nutritional status among febrile children in Accra, Ghana. METHODS: The study was conducted among febrile children aged 6 months to 5 years attending three health facilities in Accra from May to October, 2022. A total of 315 children were selected for the study. Anthropometric measurement was done for each participant. Blood and stool samples were collected for investigation. Thick and thin blood smears stained with 10% Giemsa were prepared and examined for Plasmodium parasite using microscopy. Stool samples were processed using direct wet mount and formalin-ether concentration method and examined for intestinal parasites using microscopy. Haemoglobin concentration was measured using automatic haematology analyzer. RESULTS: A total of 24% (76/315) were positive for malaria. Plasmodium falciparum accounted for 77.6% (59/76) of parasitaemia, whereas Plasmodium malariae was 22.4% (17/76). Prevalence of intestinal parasite infection was 10.7% (34/315). Giardia lamblia accounted for 17/315 (5.3%) of the entire children, followed by Ascaris lumbricoides 8/315 (2.5%), Hookworm 6/315 (1.9%) and Trichuris trichiura 3/315 (0.9%). A total of 15/315 (5%) of the participants had co-infection of malaria and intestinal parasite infection. Prevalence of anaemia, malnutrition, stunting, wasting and underweight were (72%), (30.7%), (16.2%), (24.4%) and (57.1%) respectively. Malaria was significantly associated with anaemia (p = 0.000) and underweight (p = 0.013). Ascaris lumbricoides was significantly associated with wasting (p = 0.010). Giardia lamblia was significantly association with malnutrition (p = 0.000) and Stunting (p = 0.000), whereas Hookworm was found to be significantly associated with anaemia (p = 0.021). CONCLUSION: Prevalence of IPI in this study was less than previously reported, most likely due to regular deworming of most of the children. However, Malaria and intestinal parasitic infection were significantly associated with anaemia and malnutrition including wasting, stunting, and underweight.