The Influence of Helicobacter pylori Infection on Malaria Parasitaemia among Symptomatic Patients in Buea, Cameroon

Introduction: Helicobacter pylori is the main etiological factor for peptic ulcer disease and gastric malignancy. Malaria is one of the world's most prevalent vector-borne diseases and the leading cause of illness and death. While infection with either malaria or H. pylori can cause illness and death, infection with one can make an infection with the other worse and/or more difficult to treat.

Main Objective: The primary objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of malaria and malaria parasitaemia among symptomatic gastritis patients in Buea.

Method: The study was a cross-sectional study carried out from March 2017 to July 2017. The study population comprised of 150 patients who came to the hospital laboratory for H. pylori test requested by the physician. A structured questionnaire was used to get demographic and clinical data. Two ml of blood was collected from the patients into an EDTA tube using venipuncture technique. Few drops of blood were used to prepare a thick and thin blood film for malaria parasite determination, and the slides were allowed to air dry. The remaining blood in the EDTA tube was then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5minutes to obtain plasma. The H. pylori test strip was then removed from the pack and two drops of serum were placed on the sample region. The results were read after five minutes.

Results and Discussion: The general prevalence of malaria, H. pylori infection and the co-infection were 26.55, 21.9% and 9.9% respectively. There was a significant difference (p ˂0.05) in the prevalence of H. pylori among the age groups, gender and educational level.