Maternal malaria but not schistosomiasis is associated with a higher risk of febrile infection in infant during the first 3 months of life : a mother-child cohort in Benin

Maternal malaria but not schistosomiasis is associated with a higher risk of febrile infection in infant during the first 3 months of life : a mother-child cohort in Benin Agbota G. auteur aut IRD Polman K. auteur aut IRD Wieringa Franck auteur aut IRD Campos-Ponce M. auteur aut IRD Accrombessi M. auteur aut IRD Yovo E. auteur aut IRD Roucher C. auteur aut IRD Ezinmegnon S. auteur aut IRD Marcos J. Y. auteur aut IRD Vachot L. auteur aut IRD Tissieres P. auteur aut IRD Massougbodji A. auteur aut IRD Fievet Nadine auteur aut IRD Cot Michel auteur aut IRD Briand Valérie auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf reformatted digital access Background Malaria and schistosomiasis represent two of the most prevalent and disabling parasitic infections in developing countries. Few studies have evaluated the effect of maternal schistosomiasis and malaria in the peri-conceptional period on infant's risk of infection. Methods In Benin, women were followed from the preconception period until delivery. Subsequently, their children were followed from birth to 3 months of age. Pre-pregnancy malaria, malaria in pregnancy (MiP)-determined monthly using a thick blood smear-and urinary schistosomiasis-determined once before pregnancy and once at delivery using urine filtration-were the main maternal exposures. Infant's febrile infection (fever with respiratory, gastrointestinal and/or cutaneous clinical signs anytime during follow-up) was the main outcome. In a secondary analysis, we checked the relation of malaria and schistosomiasis with infant's hemoglobin (Hb) concentration. Both effects were separately assessed using logistic/mixed linear regression models. Results The prevalence of MiP was 35.7% with 10.8% occurring during the 1st trimester, and the prevalence of schistosomiasis was 21.8%. From birth to 3 months, 25.3% of infants had at least one episode of febrile infection. In multivariate analysis, MiP, particularly malaria in the 1st trimester, was significantly associated with a higher risk of infant's febrile infection (aOR = 4.99 [1.1; 22.6], p = 0.03). In secondary results, pre-pregnancy malaria and schistosomiasis were significantly associated with a lower infant's Hb concentration during the first 3 months. Conclusion We evidenced the deleterious effect of maternal parasitic infections on infant's health. Our results argue in favor of the implementation of preventive strategies as early as in the periconception. specialized BENIN 050 052 PLoS One 14 9 e0222864 [13 p.] 2019 1932-6203 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010077367 10.1371/journal.pone.0222864 1932-6203 [F B010077367] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010077367 https://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/divers19-12/010077367.pdf IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2020-01-07 2025-02-24 fdi:010077367 fre