Clinico-Epidemiological Studies of Plasmodium Falciparum and Salmonella Typhi Co-Infection among Patients Attending Selected General Hospital in Northern Nigeria
Study on the prevalence of co-infection between Plasmodium falciparum and Salmonella typhi among patients in Northern Nigeria was carried out. The study is cross-sectional designed to determine the socio-demographic characteristics as well as the risk factors for malaria and typhoid. A total of 100 consented patients of age group of 21-40 years were recruited for the study. A structured questionnaire was administered, and venous blood samples were collected and analyzed using standard microbiological methods. The isolated salmonella species were biochemically characterized, and subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The prevalence of malaria and typhoid was found to be 56% and 68% respectively. The prevalence of malarial parasite and Salmonella typhi infections was 40%. Females recorded low malarial infection of 56.9% compared to their male counterparts 43.1% (P= 0.510). The age group, educational levels and occupations of the study participants were not associated with the likelihood of having malarial parasite infection (P= 0.297, 0.15 and 0.503 respectively). Participants who did not sleep under the insecticide treated nets were more likely to have malaria than those who did (P ≤ 0.0001). The educational levels of the study participants were statistically associated with Salmonella typhi infection (P= 0.026). Water sources, use of pit latrine, hand washing before and after meal were significantly associated with Salmonella typhi infections (P= <0.0001 and P= 0.003 respectively). The isolates of Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi were found to be sensitive to chloramphenicol (86.8%), ciprofloxacin (80.9%) and amoxicillin (79.4%), but relatively resistant to penicillin and augmentin that recorded sensitivities of 19.1% and 35.3% respectively. The prevalence of malaria and typhoid infections as well as malarial parasite and Salmonella typhi co-infections is high among the study population. Fortunately, the isolated bacteria are highly sensitive to chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin.