Co-Infection of Dengue Virus and Plasmodium Falciparum in Malaria Patients Attending Mission Hospitals in Enugu State, Nigeria
Abstract
Arboviruses are currently recognized as a global threat to human and public health, causing widespread morbidity worldwide, particularly in Africa. Among the emerging infectious diseases, arboviral diseases, especially dengue viral disease, are of significant importance. The study is aimed to determine the co-infection of dengue virus and P. falciparum among residents of Enugu metropolis, Enugu State, Nigeria. The study adopted a cross sectional survey and was carried out at the major Mission owned hospitals within Enugu Metropolis. The hospitals include Ntasi Obi Ndi Nò N’afufu hospital, Trans Ekulu, Mother of Christ Specialist hospital, Ogbete and Annunciation Specialist hospital Emene. A total of 300 blood samples were collected from the volunteered participants, eighty (80) samples from Ntasi Obi hospital, one hundred samples (100) from Annunciation hospital and one hundred and twenty samples (120) from Mother of Christ hospital. Out of 300 samples analysed, 62% were positive for P.falciparum using RDT while 66.7% were positive by microscopy. Comparatively, across the hospitals, Mother of Christ had the highest prevalence rate of P.falciparum representing 29% followed by Annunciation hospital 19.7% and then Ntasi Obi hospital 13.3%. Molecularly, the Plasmodium spp was confirmed using conventional PCR technique as Plasmodium falciparum at 207bp. On the other hand, the study also revealed that the prevalence rate of dengue across the hospitals were, Mother of Christ 8.1%, Annunciation 4.3% and Ntasi Obi 3.8%. The study revealed that female participants were more seropositive to both Dengue IgG 72% and Dengue IgM 64% than their male counterparts IgG 28% and IgM 36% (P = 0.038). Co-infection rate of dengue IgM and P. falciparum was 12.2% and the distribution across the hospitals was Ntasi Obi 2.1%, Annunciation 4.6% and Mother of Christ 5.5%. The study generally suggested that co-infection of dengue in malaria patients is possible and complications can be severe if they co-exist.
Keywords
P.falciparum, Arboviruses, Dengue.
Citations
IRE Journals:
Eze, Paul Ejike , Ogudu, Emmanuel. O , Ozochikelu, Cornelius C.
"Co-Infection of Dengue Virus and Plasmodium Falciparum in Malaria Patients Attending Mission Hospitals in Enugu State, Nigeria" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals Volume 8 Issue 9 2025 Page 1405-1414
IEEE:
Eze, Paul Ejike , Ogudu, Emmanuel. O , Ozochikelu, Cornelius C.
"Co-Infection of Dengue Virus and Plasmodium Falciparum in Malaria Patients Attending Mission Hospitals in Enugu State, Nigeria" Iconic Research And Engineering Journals, 8(9)
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