Covid-19 and Malaria Co-Infection in Imo State, Nigeria: A Descriptive Seroprevalence Study

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and malaria syndemic poses colossal challenge in prompt diagnosis and effective management of both infections especially in tropical regions. Therefore, this survey was conducted in order to ascertain the seroprevalence of SARS-COV-2 antibodies and malaria parasite in a Federal University of Technology Owerri, located in the south-eastern part of Nigeria, shortly after the waves of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The study was carried out among staff and students in the School of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria within the age range of twenty-one (21) and above.

Method: A total of 600 randomly selected participants (400 students and 200 staff) who had provided informed consent, were randomly selected from the School of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Technology Owerri. Questionnaires were administered to collect data on respondents’ demographics and clinical history. Then, blood samples were aseptically collected by needle prick and tested for COVID-19 and malaria using the SARS-COV-2 IgM/IgG antibody test kit and the malaria test kit (Malaria Pf (HRP2) respectively.

Results: Malaria and COVID-19 co-infection rates observed among the staff and students in this survey were 5% and 1.8% respectively. Out of the 200 staff tested in this study, 45(22.5%) were IgG positive, 0(0%) were positive for IgM while 10(5%) tested positive to malaria parasite. Although, all IgG positives were junior staff. Then, amongst the 400 students tested, 37(9.25%) tested positive for IgG while none (0%) were IgM positive but, 62(15.5%) were positive for Plasmodium falciparum infection. The interrelated symptoms of malaria and COVID-19 mostly observed in our respondents were fever, headache and fatigue.

Conclusion: Results from this study further explained that the level of co-infection prevalence varies directly with the level of malaria prevalence and vice versa.