ASSESSING HAEMOSTATIC DISTURBANCES AMONG MALARIA PATIENTS IN SEMI-URBAN MALARIA ENDEMIC ZONES

Malaria a mosquito-borne protozoon infection is one of the health challenges facing majority of people living in sub-Sahara Africa including Nigeria (an endemic region). The causative agents Plasmodium species parasitizes host erythrocytes and destroys its hemoglobin thereby causing anaemia in some of the infected individuals. This study evaluated some haemostatic parameters of malaria parasitized subjects living in Owo-Ondo State. Haemostatic parameters (Prothrombin time (PT), Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT) and Platelet count) in 100 subjects, including 50 malaria-infected and 50 non-malarias infected, living in Owo-Ondo State, an area of malaria mesoendemic transmission in Nigeria were evaluated using standard operating procedure. There was a significant prolongation in PT and APTT in among the symptomatic group compared to the asymptomatic group (p< 0.05). There was a statistically significant decrease (p< 0.05) in the platelet counts of the symptomatic group compared to the asymptomatic group. Subjects infected with malaria parasites exhibited significant changes in some haemostatic parameters, thus inclusion of these parameters in malaria diagnosis could aid in patients’ treatment