Research Article
Barikuura DF, Ngozika WG and O
Abstract
This cross-sectional study investigated some inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) concentrations in pregnant women with Plasmodium falciparum infection in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, South-South Nigeria. A total of 162 samples were randomly collected from pregnant women who are attending Braithwaite Memorial Hospital and College of Health and Technology Health Services Centre Antenatal clinics between May 2017-August 2018, all in Port Harcourt, through convenient sampling technique. The average mean age of the parasitized pregnant women stood at 30.3 ± 47 years while the control subjects stood at 30.3 ± 51 years. The plasma obtained from the blood samples after centrifugation at 1500 rpm were subjected to cytokine laboratory based analysis using commercial standard Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay kit (ELISA-Elabscience Biotechnology Inc, USA). Malaria diagnosis and blood parameters were carried out using standard parasitological and haematological Standard techniques. The result from the study revealed that pregnant women with Plasmodium falciparum infection within the age group of 29-33 years had the highest prevalence and mean parasitaemia level of 41.2% and 7955.11 ± 1225.75 parasites/µL (χ2=0.641, p=0.962; F=1.173, p=0.328) respectively