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.

SUMMARY: This study evaluated malaria care-seeking behaviour, as well as the prevalence of parasitaemia and anaemia among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics of two tertiary healthcare facilities in Edo State, Nigeria. Malaria was highly prevalent in the study group (20% by microscopy and estimated 25% by PCR), but parasitaemia and incidence decreased with increasing number of pregnancies. Although the level of education of the study participants was relatively high, antimalarial control measures during pregnancy were found to be poorly utilised by the women and malaria care-seeking was often delayed. A minority of the interviewed pregnant women said they had received sulphadoxine/pyrimethamine-based intermittent preventive therapy (IPT) during current pregnancy. Moreover, the use of inferior antimalaria treatment (e.g. chloroquine) was frequent. The majority of the pregnant women, mainly primigravidae, were anaemic. Efforts to improve antimalaria healthcare must be intensified, targeting pregnant women, particularly the primigravidae and secundigravidae and the healthcare providers.

"A Study of the Pharmaceutical Quality of Chloroquine and Paracetamol Products Sold in a Major Nigerian ""Market"""

"Malaria is a major public health problem in endemic countries; and the quality of anti-malarial products is a concern in the therapeutic management of individual patient. In this study; we have evaluated the pharmaceutical quality of chloroquine and paracetamol oral products obtained from a major Nigerian drug ""market"" using a less elaborate sampling procedure. Results have shown that there are still some defects in the pharmaceutical quality of these drugs; despite the activities of the Nigeria's drug regulatory agency (National agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control; NAFDAC). 21(7/34) of the drug products were not registered by NAFDAC. The pharmaceutical properties of the products indicated that 6; 15; 9; and 9of them failed tests for disintegration; dissolution; crushing strength; and percentage of active content; respectively. 4 out of the 6 chloroquine liquid preparations evaluated had inadequate active content. These defects could have resulted from deliberate counterfeiting; poor quality control during manufacture or decomposition of the products. However; this could not be ascertained from the data available to us in this study. The implication of these findings; however; is that the newer anti-malarial drugs that have recently been introduced into the Nigerian market should be safeguarded; if their therapeutic usefulness must be sustained."