Malaria in pregnancy

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KIT Dossier Malaria in pregnancy

Last update: Monday 29 July 2013

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2013

  • Factors affecting the delivery, access, and use of interventions to prevent Malaria in pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis
    Hill J., Hoyt J., van Eijk AM, et al.
    The authors conducted a systematic review to explore factors affecting delivery, access, and use of IPTp and ITNs among healthcare providers and women.
    Delivery of ITNs through antenatal clinics presents fewer problems than delivery of IPTp. Many obstacles to IPTp delivery are relatively simple barriers that could be resolved in the short term. Other barriers are more entrenched within the overall healthcare system or socio-economic/cultural contexts, and will require medium- to long-term strategies.
    PLOS Medicine | 2013
  • Impact of malaria during pregnancy on pregnancy outcomes in a Ugandan prospective cohort with intensive malaria screening and prompt treatment
    De Beaudrap P., Turyakira E., White L. et al.
    In this study, the timing, parasitaemia level and number of peripherally-detected malaria infections, but not the presence of fever, were associated with adverse birth outcomes. Hence, prompt malaria detection and treatment should be offered to pregnant women regardless of symptoms or other preventive measures used during pregnancy, and with increased focus on mothers living in remote areas.
    Malaria Journal | May 2013
  • Gender differences in the use of insecticide-treated nets after a universal free distribution campaign in Kano State, Nigeria: post-campaign survey results
    Garley A., Ivanovich E., Eckert E. et al.
    Recent expansion in insecticide-treated net (ITN) distribution strategies range from targeting pregnant women and children under five and distributing ITN at antenatal care and immunization programmes, to providing free distribution campaigns to cover an entire population. These changes in strategy raise issues of disparities, such as equity of access and equality in ITN use among different groups, including females and males.
    This study reveals gender disparity in ITN use, with males less likely to use ITNs particularly among ages 15–25 years. The uptake of the intervention among the most at-risk group (females) is higher than males, which may be reflective of earlier strategies for malaria interventions. Further research is needed to identify whether gender disparities in ITN use are related to traditional targeting of pregnant women and children with malaria interventions; however, results provide evidence to design gender-sensitive messaging for universal ITN distribution campaigns to ensure that males benefit equally from such communications and activities.
  • Impact of malaria during pregnancy on pregnancy outcomes in a Ugandan prospective cohort with intensive malaria screening and prompt treatment
    De Beaudrap P., Turyakira E., White l. et al.
    This study followed a prospective cohort of pregnant women who had access to intensive malaria screening and prompt treatment to identify factors associated with increased risk of MiP and to analyse how various characteristics of MiP affect delivery outcomes.
    In this study, the timing, parasitaemia level and number of peripherally-detected malaria infections, but not the presence of fever, were associated with adverse birth outcomes. Hence, prompt malaria detection and treatment should be offered to pregnant women regardless of symptoms or other preventive measures used during pregnancy, and with increased focus on mothers living in remote areas.
    Malaria Journal | April 2013
  • World Malaria Day 2013
    Progress and gaps in the treatment for malaria

  • Uncomplicated malaria among pregnant women in the Brazilian Amazon: Local barriers to prompt and effective case management
    Borges Luz T., Suárez-Mutis M., Miranda S. et al.
    This study  aims to identify the local barriers to prompt and effective case management of malaria in pregnancy and was carried out in health facilities located in three endemic municipalities of the Brazilian Amazon. The study design combined both qualitative and quantitative descriptive methods. Flaws were detected in diagnosis and treatment. Training,  knowledge and counseling were also sub-optimal. These results indicated the need to improve the health-worker performance through training.
    Acta Tropica | 2013

2012

  • Prevalence, pattern, and determinants of placental malaria in a population of southeastern Nigerian parturients
    Ezebialua I., Eke A., Ezeagwuna D. et al.
    Placental malaria is a complication of malaria in pregnancy and is associated with adverse outcomes. Its burden is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa, but despite this, data based on histological analysis are scarce from this region. This study showed that the prevalence of placental malaria in southeastern Nigeria is high, and demonstrated that the mean parasite density was inversely related to parity. Significant factors associated with placental malaria were also identified. Appreciation of these significant factors will assist program managers in implementing the strategies for the prevention of malaria in pregnancy.
    International Journal of Infectious Diseases | 2012
  • Malaria Policy Advisory Committee to the WHO: conclusions and recommendations of September 2012 meeting
    WHO Malaria Policy Advisory Committee and Secretariat
    This article provides a summary of the discussions, conclusions and recommendations from the meeting.
    Malaria Journal | 2012
  • A population pharmacokinetic model of piperaquine in pregnant and non-pregnant women with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Sudan
    Hoglund R., Adam I., Hanpithakpong W. et al.
    Pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of developing a malaria infection and a higher risk of developing severe malaria. The pharmacokinetic properties of many anti-malarials are also altered during pregnancy, often resulting in a decreased drug exposure. Piperaquine is a promising anti-malarial partner drug used in a fixed-dose combination with dihydroartemisinin. The aim of this study was to investigate the population pharmacokinetics of piperaquine in pregnant and non-pregnant Sudanese women with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
    Malaria Journal | 2012
  • Peripheral blood cell signatures of plasmodium falciparum infection during pregnancy
    Ibitokou S., Oesterholt M., Brutus L. et al.
    Sequestration of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes in placental intervillous spaces causes inflammation and pathology. Knowledge of the profiles of immune cells associated with the physiopathology of pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) is scarce. The authors conducted a longitudinal, prospective study, both in Benin and Tanzania, including ~1000 pregnant women in each site with systematic follow-up at scheduled antenatal visits until delivery. Findings emphasize the prominent role played by B cells during PAM whenever it arises during pregnancy, whilst also revealing signature changes in other circulating cell types that primarily reflect the relative duration of the infections. Thus, the acute, recently-acquired infections present at delivery were marked by changes in DC and Teff frequencies, contrasting with infections at inclusion, considered chronic in nature, that were characterized by an abundance of immature monocytes and a paucity of Treg in PBMC.
    PLoS ONE | 2012
  • Biomarkers of Plasmodium falciparum infection during pregnancy in women living in northeastern Tanzania
    Boström S., Ibitokou S., Oesterholt M., et al.
    In pregnant women, Plasmodium falciparum infections are an important cause of maternal morbidity as well as fetal and neonatal mortality. Erythrocytes infected by these malaria-causing parasites accumulate through adhesive interactions in placental intervillous spaces, thus evading detection in peripheral blood smears. Sequestered infected erythrocytes induce inflammation, offering the possibility of detecting inflammatory mediators in peripheral blood that could act as biomarkers of placental infection. In a longitudinal, prospective study in Tanzania, the authors quantified a range of different cytokines, chemokines and angiogenic factors in peripheral plasma samples, taken on multiple sequential occasions during pregnancy up to and including delivery, from P. falciparum-infected women and matched uninfected controls. The results show that during healthy, uninfected pregnancies the levels of most of the panel of molecules they measured were largely unchanged except at delivery.
    PLoS ONE | 2012
  • WHO updates guidance on intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy
    Intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) remains a powerful tool against malaria in countries with moderate to high stable malaria transmission. Yet there has been confusion, lapses and very poor coverage with this intervention with little progress toward the Roll back malaria target of 80% coverage with two doses during pregnancy.  WHO has recently revisited this strategy and has issued revised recommendations, reproduced in this Update. Importantly, according to the WHO, these also address some of the myths about IPTp with SP.
    World Health Organization | October 2012
  • The Malaria in Pregnancy Library: a bibliometric review
    Van Eijk A., Hill J., Povall S. et al.
    The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in publications related to malaria in pregnancy, and an increasing proportion of these are publically available online. The MiP Library is a useful, scholarly source for literature and systematic reviews related to malaria in pregnancy.
    Malaria Journal | 2012
  • Sub-optimal delivery of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy in Nigeria: influence of provider factors
    Onoka C., Onwujekwe O., Hanson K. et al.
    The level of access to intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) in Nigeria is still low despite relatively high antenatal care coverage in the study area. This paper presents information on provider factors that affect the delivery of IPTp in Nigeria.
    Malaria Journal | 2012
  • Validity of self-reported use of sulphadoxinepyrimethamine intermittent presumptive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp): a cross-sectional study
    Namusoke F., Ntale M., Wahlgren M. et al.
    The results of this study question the accuracy of self-reported data in estimating IPTp coverage in the population. More studies on validity of self reported data are recommended. Since the validity of IPTp self reports is vital for guiding policy on malaria control in pregnancy, ways should be sought to improve accuracy of the information from such reports.
    Malaria Journal | 2012
  • New insights into acquisition, boosting, and longevity of immunity to malaria in pregnant women
    Fowkes F., McGready R., Cross N. et al.
    How antimalarial antibodies are acquired and maintained during pregnancy and boosted after reinfection with Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax is unknown. A nested case-control study of 467 pregnant women (136 Plasmodium-infected cases and 331 uninfected control subjects) in northwestern Thailand was conducted.
    Results. Antibodies to P. falciparum and P. vivax were highly variable over time, and maintenance of high levels of antimalarial antibodies involved highly dynamic responses resulting from intermittent exposure to infection. There was evidence of boosting with each successive infection for P. falciparum responses, suggesting the presence of immunological memory. However, the half-lives of Plasmodium antibody responses were relatively short, compared with measles, and much shorter for merozoite responses, compared with PfVAR2CSA responses. These findings may have important practical implications for predicting the duration of vaccine induced responses by candidate antigens and supports the development of malaria vaccines to protect pregnant women.
    Journal of Infectious Diseases | 2012
  • Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia in the first half of pregnancy, uterine and umbilical artery blood flow, and foetal growth: a longitudinal Doppler ultrasound study
    Griffin J., Lokomba V., Landis S. et al.
    Early pregnancy malaria parasitaemia affects uterine and umbilical artery blood flow, possibly due to alterations in placentation and angiogenesis, respectively. Among primigravidae, early pregnancy malaria parasitaemia increases the risk of intrauterine growth restriction. The findings support the initiation of malaria parasitaemia prevention and control efforts earlier in pregnancy.
    Malaria Journal | 2012
  • Effect of malaria in pregnancy on foetal cortical brain development: a longitudinal observational study
    Rijken M., de Wit M., Mulder E. et al.
    Malaria in pregnancy has a negative impact on foetal growth, but it is not known whether this also affects the foetal nervous system. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of malaria on foetal cortex development by three-dimensional ultrasound. The percentage of images that could be graded was similar to other neuro-sonographic studies. Maternal malaria does not have a gross effect on foetal brain development, at least in this population, which had access to early detection and effective treatment of malaria.
    Malaria Journal | 2012
  • Africa: Malaria Policy Center Launches New Website to Provide in-Depth and Up to Date Information On Progress in the Malaria Fight
    allAfrica | June 2012
  • Essential malaria actions guide for Kenyan families
    This guide is designed to assist district health managers, health workers, and NGO partners in planning and implementing malaria social and behaviour change communication  activities at community level. The guide seeks to ensure harmonisation of communication approaches and promotes seven essential malaria actions that fall into four categories: long-lasting insecticide-treated nets use, malaria case management, indoor residual spraying, and prevention of malaria during pregnancy. The guide seeks to enable district health teams, partners, and stakeholders implementing advocacy, communication and social mobilisation activities.
    Division of Malaria Control Kenya | 2012 | 30 pp.
  • A systematic review of the safety and efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine against uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria during pregnancy
    Manyando C., Kayentao K., D’Alessandro U. et al.

    There is evidence to suggest that the pharmacokinetics of anti-malarial drugs may change in pregnancy, although the impact on efficacy and safety needs to be studied further, especially since the majority of studies report high cure rates and adequate tolerability. As there are fewer reports of AL safety in the first trimester, additional data are required to assess the potential to use AL in the first trimester. Though the available safety and efficacy data support the use of AL in the second and third trimesters, there is still a need for further information. These findings reinforce the WHO recommendation to treat uncomplicated falciparum malaria with quinine plus clindamycin in early pregnancy and ACT in later pregnancy.
    Malaria Journal | 2012 

  • Temporal trends of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) drug-resistance molecular markers in Plasmodium falciparum parasites from pregnant women in western Kenya
    Iriemenam N., Shah M.,  Gatei W. et al.
    Resistance to sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) in Plasmodium falciparum parasites is associated with mutations in the dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr) and dihydropteroate synthase (dhps) genes and has spread worldwide. SP remains the recommended drug for intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) and information on population prevalence of the SP resistance molecular markers in pregnant women is limited.
    Malaria Journal | 2012 | 30 pp.

  • Malaria in Pregnancy: A solvable problem
    At the end of June 2012, doctors, public health professionals, researchers, and scientists convened in Istanbul to attend “Malaria in Pregnancy: A Solvable Problem," a conference organized by the Harvard School of Public Health’s Maternal Health Task Force. The objective of the meeting was to share successes and challenges in MiP coverage from different countries, with the goal of identifying steps to improve coverage and reduce malaria in pregnancy. Coverage of the conference can be accessed at the Maternal Health Task Force’s blog and at the Malaria Matters blog

  • Malaria in Pregnancy Blog Series
    Maternal Health Task Force’s Blog

  • The President’s Malaria Initiative
    Sixth Annual Report to Congress
    PMI supports operations research projects designed to inform and improve program implementation and contribute to global malaria control efforts.
    USAID | 2012
  • The epidemiology of postpartum malaria: a systematic review
    Boel M., Rijken M., Brabin B. et al.
    The results of this review have to be carefully interpreted, as the majority of studies were not designed to study postpartum malaria, and there was large variability in study designs and reported outcomes. Current evidence suggests an effort should be made to detect and radically cure malaria during pregnancy so that women do not enter the postpartum period with residual parasites.
    Malaria Journal | 2012 | 17 pp.
  • Low coverage of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy in Nigeria: demand-side influences
    Onoka C., Hanson K., Onwujekwe O.
    Nigeria instituted intermittent preventive treatment for malaria (IPTp) using sulphadoxinepyrimethamine (SP) for pregnant women in 2001, but coverage remains low. This study examined the influence of demand side factors on IPTp coverage.
    Malaria Journal | 2012 | 15 pp.

  • An analysis of timing and frequency of malaria infection during pregnancy in relation to the risk of low birth weight, anemia and perinatal mortality in Burkina Faso
    Valea I., Tinto H., Drabo M. et al.
    A prospective study aiming at assessing the effect of adding a third dose sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) to the standard two-dose intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women was carried out in Hounde, Burkina Faso. Malaria infection during first trimester of pregnancy is associated to a higher risk of low birth weight. Women should be encouraged to use long-lasting insecticidal nets before and throughout their pregnancy.
    Malaria Journal | 2012 | 12 pp.
  • Supply-related drivers of staff motivation for providing intermittent preventive treatment of malaria during pregnancy in Tanzania: evidence from two rural districts
    Mubyazi, G., Bloch, P., Byskov, J. et al.
    This paper describes the supply-related drivers of motivation and performance of HWs in administering IPTp doses among other ANC services delivered in public and private health facilities (HFs) in Tanzania, using a case study of Mkuranga and Mufindi districts.
    Malaria Journal | 2012 | 23 pp.

2011

2009

Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy

Can Prenatal Malaria Exposure Produce an Immune Tolerant Phenotype? A Prospective Birth Cohort Study in Kenya

Estimating the burden of malaria in pregnancy: a case study from rural Madhya Pradesh, India

Rural Gambian women's reliance on health workers to deliver sulphadoxine – pyrimethamine as recommended intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy

Prevalence of Malaria in Pregnant Women in Lagos, South-West Nigeria

Structural insights into chondroitin sulphate A binding Duffy-binding-like domains from Plasmodium falciparum: implications for intervention strategies against placental malaria

Plasmodium falciparum malaria in pregnancy: Prevalence of peripheral parasitaemia, anaemia and malaria care-seeking behaviour among pregnant women attending two antenatal clinics in Edo State, Nigeria (full text available through Ilse Egers i.egers@kit.nl)

A review on high burden of malaria during pregnancy: Need of social science intervention

2008
Access and barriers to measures targeted to prevent malaria in pregnancy in rural Kenya

Malaria in pregnancy in an area of stable and intense transmissions: is it asymptomatic?

Prevention and control of malaria in pregnancy in the African Region. A program implementation guide

Intermittent preventive therapy with SP for the prevention of malaria in pregnancy: Regimen optimisation studies in Africa

Malaria in Pregnancy in the Solomon Islands: Barriers to prevention and control

Malaria in pregnancy pilot projects nationally adopted in Kenya and Malawi

Control measures for malaria in pregnancy in India

An autopsy study of maternal mortality in Mozambique: The contribution of infectious diseases

2007
The effect of health care worker training on the use of intermittent preventive treatment for malaria in pregnancy in rural western Kenya

Estimation of effectiveness of interventions for malaria control in pregnancy using the screening method

Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy: the effect of new delivery approaches on access and compliance rates in Uganda 

Malaria and anaemia among pregnant women at first antenatal clinic visit in Kisumu, western Kenya

Seasonal variations in maternal mortality in Maputo, Mazambique: the role of malaria 

Impact of Placental Plasmodium falciparum Malaria on Pregnancy and Perinatal Outcome in Sub-Saharan Africa

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Thematic guides to selected key documents & links, and to expertise of the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT). Have a look on the dossiers overview page.

KIT's involvement

The department Biomedical Research, Unit Parasitology, has several research lines in “malaria in pregnancy”.

Contact

For questions and suggestions, please contact the editor Ilse Egers