Malaria in African infants and children in Southern Nigeria
Bruce-Chwatt, L.J.
Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 46(2): 173-200
1952
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-4983 PMID: 12986705 DOI: 10.1080/00034983.1952.11685522Document Number: 519618
In the vicinity of Lagos 33% of 323 parturient African women showed infection mainly with Plasmodium falciparum. 23.8% of the placentae were infected. No cases of congenital infection were seen in 332 babies. The mean birth wt. of babies born of mothers with infected placentae was slightly but significantly lower than when the placentae were not infected. In 138 African infants the mean parasite rate increased from 2.2% in the first 3 months, to 20% in the 2d quarter, to 60-70% in the 3d quarter and to over 80% thereafter. In infected infants the flattening out of the wt.-gain curve at 5 mos. and thereafter is more pronounced than in non-infected infants. In 64 untreated infants, infected for the first time with P. falciparum. 15% showed considerable deleterious effect, 50% showed only transitory effect and 18% showed little or no effect on the wt. curve. This is taken as providing indirect evidence of inherited transient passive immunity against malaria. 3540 autopsies showed acute malaria as the cause of death in 9% of infants, 14% of children aged 1-4 yrs., 9% of children aged 5-7 yrs., in 4% of older children and in 2% of adolescents. The computed age-specific malaria-mortality figures per thousand Africans exposed to risk in the area under discussion are infants about 12.5, young children 7, older children 1, adolescents and adults 0.3. It is estimated that malaria is directly responsible for 35,000 deaths per annum in children under 15 yrs. of age in Nigeria.