Investigating the Effect of Glucose 6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency (G6PDd) and Haemoglobin Variants on Malaria in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria | Chapter 16 | New Frontiers in Medicine and Medical Research Vol. 17

 Due to a protective advantage against malaria parasites, malaria illness burden is thought to follow the same geographical pattern as G6PD deficiency and sickle cell haemoglobin (HbSS). Malaria during pregnancy is a major public health concern that kills both mothers and infants, as well as increasing mortality in malaria-endemic areas. The goal of this study was to see how G6PD and haemoglobin variations interacted in pregnant women with subclinical malaria. For analysis, five millilitres (5ml) of venous blood were taken aseptically and thoroughly mixed into a 1 percent diamine tetraacetic acid container. A 3000 BSA spectrophotometer and the Randox G6PD kit were used to measure G6PD activity. Using thick and thin Giemsa stained blood smears, the density of malaria parasites was assessed microscopically. Using cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis with Tris-EDTA-borate buffer, haemoglobin variations were found (pH 8.9). All of the data was analysed using p values as a measure of significance, with (p>0.05) being regarded inconsequential and (p0.05) being considered significant. Eight hundred and twenty-eight (828) people took part in the study. Five hundred and seventy-seven of them (61.2%) were infected with the malaria parasite, while three hundred and twenty-one (321) (38.8%) acted as controls (uninfected subjects). The HbAA genotype was the most common in malaria parasite infection, accounting for 379 (74.8%), followed by HbAS 126 (24.9%), and HbSS 2 (0.4 percent ). The participants in the study had an average age of 29.5+5.31 years. Furthermore, 517 (62.4 percent) of the 828 subjects were G6PD deficient. HbSS had a mean G6PD level of 12.20+0.30u/gHb, which was significantly greater than HbAS's 6.28+0.16u/gHb and HbAA's 6.60+0.07u/gHb. As a result, co-inheritance of G6PD and HbS confers no advantage over HbS inheritance alone.

Author(S) Details

Susanna O. Akwuebu
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Evelyn M. Eze
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Zacchaeus A. Jeremiah
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

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