Malaria Parasitaemia Levels in Relation to Antioxidant Enzyme Levels in Severe Malaria Amongst Ghanaian Children

Abstract

Malaria is an important infectious disease in tropical and subtropical regions. The disease presents a major global health problem with over 40% of the world`s population exposed to varying degrees of infection risk in over 100 countries. About 1 to 2 million deaths occur annually, 90% of whom are children in sub-Saharan Africa. During the course of malarial infection, the parasites as well as the red blood cells (RBCs) come under oxidative stress and the host system responds in an attempt to protect the RBCs against the damage caused by Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) by producing antioxidants. This study investigated the protective role of ROS in relation to malaria parasitaemia levels. One hundred and fifty (150) structured questionnaires were administered to the guardians of participants (children up to 12 years old). Blood samples were collected to estimate the parasitaemia levels and to measure the haematological parameters. Activities of superoxide dismutase and DNA comet assay were used to evaluate extent of damage on parasite DNA as a result of oxidative stress. Participants who tested positive for malaria parasitaemia were categorized either as severe (high parasitaemia; 56.75 x 10 3 ± 57.69/μl) or uncomplicated malaria (low parasitaemia; 5.87 x 10 3 ± 2.87/μl), whiles those who tested negative were categorized as controls. Quantitative analysis of the impact of SOD activity on malaria parasites showed that participants with severe malaria had low SOD activity (295.33 ± 211.40) U/ml while the uncomplicated had high SOD activity levels (520.69 ± 275.10) U/ml. Which was significant (P<0.05). There was also a significant difference (P<0.05) in the levels of haemoglobin (Hb), neutrophils and lymphocytes between the different study groups. The study indicated that, ROS plays a pivotal role as a first-line anti-parasitic defense in P. falciparum malaria infection. Hence, addition of anti-oxidant foods and fruits to the routine anti-malarial treatments should be recommended during the infection.