Juliet Ndibazza

University

Faculty of Medicine and School of Public Health, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

PhD Title

The effects of helminth infections and deworming during pregnancy and early childhood, and of maternal Plasmodium-helminth co-infections, on malaria morbidity and humoral immunity in childhood

Abstract

Malaria and helminth infections are endemic in the tropics and subtropics, and large populations are infected by both parasites, posing an enormous public health burden. Effects of plasmodium-helminth co-infections could have profound consequences on the health of pregnant women and young children. Apart from the potential composite effect of plasmodium-helminth co-infections on anaemia in pregnancy, and on adverse birth outcomes, the extent to which the combined presence of these parasites might interact prenatally to affect childhood illnesses is still poorly understood. This study aims to test the hypothesis that the incidence and presentation of malaria in early childhood is modified by prenatal plasmodium-helminth co-infections, and deworming in pregnancy and early childhood.

Data will be provided from the Entebbe Mother and Baby Study (EMABS) database, a 2x2 factorial randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial of albendazole and praziquantel [ISRCTN32849447]. The initial component of this research project will determine whether plasmodium-helminth associations can be explained by geographical or environmental risk factors. The second component will involve studies of antimalarial antibodies to investigate the effects of maternal and childhood helminths, maternal malaria infections, and deworming in pregnancy and early childhood on anti-malarial immune responses in early childhood (0-5 years).