Malaria parasitaemia among long distance truck drivers in the Niger delta of Nigeria.
BACKGROUND
Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of malaria among long distance truck drivers in the Niger Delta of Nigeria.


METHODS
A total of one hundred consecutively recruited long distance truck drivers aged 21-60 years, with a mean age of 42.36 ± 5.23 years were screened for the presence of malaria parasitaemia.


RESULTS
Out of the 100 truck drivers screened, 35 (35%) were positive for malaria while 65 (65%) were negative. Plasmodium falciparum was responsible for all cases of malaria infection. The highest prevalence of malaria occurred among drivers in the 51-60 years age group (40.5%). The mean and standard deviation (SD) of parasite load was 1 020 (125) parasites/ìl in subjects positive for malaria. The mean CD4 count was significantly higher among non-parasitized truck drivers compared to P. falciparum parasitized drivers 820 ± 42.0 (731-902 cells/ µl) and 570 ± 30.0 (510-630 cells/ µl) respectively (chi square = 74.00; p = 0.03). We observed a significant negative correlation between plasmodial infection and CD4 lymphocyte count among Plasmodium falciparum-infected subjects with r = - 0.56 (p= 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Preventative strategies including regular chemoprophylaxis, intermittent preventive treatment with antimalarials and provision of insecticide-treated bed nets should be implemented.
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Niger Delta University Ammasoma Bayelsa State, Nigeria. n_osaro@yahoo.com
O
O
Erhabor
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O
Azuonwu
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N
Frank-Peterside
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001334:Automobile Driving; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult