Possible risk factors for congenital malaria at a tertiary care hospital in Sagamu, Ogun State, South-West Nigeria.

Congenital malaria, defined as the presence of malaria parasites in the erythrocytes of newborns aged <7 days, was considered rare in endemic areas until recent studies started reporting high prevalence rates. Various theories have been postulated to explain this phenomenon, but they are not proven conclusively from research. Against this background, a prospective study was designed with the following objectives.

Performance of a rapid antigen test for the diagnosis of congenital malaria.

Objective: To assess the performance of OptiMAL, a rapid malaria antigen capture dipstick, in diagnosing congenital malaria.

Methods: Live newborns aged 0-3 days, delivered at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Nigeria between August 2004 and January 2005, were screened for malaria parasitaemia with an immunochromatographic test (OptiMAL) and blood film microscopy. OptiMAL detects plasmodium lactate dehydrogenase (pLDH).