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- Title
Impact of antimalarial resistance and COVID-19 pandemic on malaria care among pregnant women in Northern Uganda (ERASE): protocol of a prospective observational study.
- Authors
Segala, Francesco Vladimiro; Di Gennaro, Francesco; Ictho, Jerry; L'Episcopia, Mariangela; Onapa, Emmanuel; Marotta, Claudia; De Vita, Elda; Amone, James; Iacobelli, Valentina; Ogwang, Joseph; Dall'Oglio, Giovanni; Ngole, Benedict; Murri, Rita; Olal, Lameck; Fantoni, Massimo; Okori, Samuel; Putoto, Giovanni; Severini, Carlo; Lochoro, Peter; Saracino, Annalisa
- Abstract
<bold>Background: </bold>Uganda accounts for 5% of all malaria cases and deaths reported globally and, in endemic countries, pregnancy is a risk factor for both acquisition of P. falciparum infection and development of severe malaria. In recent years, malaria control has been threatened by COVID-19 pandemic and by the emergence, in Northern Uganda, of both resistance to artemisinin derivatives and to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine.<bold>Methods: </bold>In this facility-based, prospective, observational study, pregnant women will be recruited at antenatal-care visits and followed-up until delivery. Collected data will explore the incidence of asymptomatic parasitemia and malaria-related outcomes, as well as the attitudes towards malaria prevention, administration of intermittent preventive treatment, healthcare seeking behavior and use of insecticide-treated nets. A subpopulation of women diagnosed with malaria will be recruited and their blood samples will be analyzed for detection of genetic markers of resistance to artemisinin derivatives and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. Also, to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on malaria care among pregnant women, a retrospective, interrupted-time series will be conducted on at the study sites for the period January 2018 to December 2021.<bold>Discussion: </bold>The present study will explore the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on incidence of malaria and malaria-related adverse outcomes, along with the prevalence of resistance to artemisinin derivatives and to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. To our knowledge, this is the first study aiming to explore the combined effect of these factors on a cohort of pregnant women.<bold>Trial Registration: </bold>This study has been registered on the ClinicalTrials.gov public website on 26th April, 2022.<bold>Clinicaltrials: </bold>gov Identifier: NCT05348746.
- Publication
BMC Infectious Diseases, 2022, Vol 22, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
1471-2334
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1186/s12879-022-07645-3