Project: Determinants and prevalence of parasite resistance among pregnant women receiving Intermittent Preventive Treatment with Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (IPTp-SP) in a Malaria endemic community

Acronym	IPTp SP resistance in Nigeria (Reference Number: TMA 2015 CDF - 973)
Duration	01/07/2017 - 30/06/2020
Project Topic	Malaria in pregnancy is an issue of public health concern due to the risk of significant adverse maternal and infant outcomes. Nigeria currently has the highest infection and transmission rates, as well as the highest at-risk population for malaria disease globally. Intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) is strongly advocated to reduce the occurrence of this disease, but resistance to the currently prescribed drug i.e. Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) is already being reported. This project thus aims to describe the burden of SP resistance and determinants of its occurrence among pregnant women receiving IPTp in Nigeria. It will also identify linkages between SP drug resistance markers and efficacy of IPTp-SP; as well as assess maternal and neonatal health outcomes. A prospective observational study will be conducted over 24 months within a malaria-endemic community. Pregnant women will be counselled during their antenatal clinic visits and consenting women meeting the inclusion criteria recruited for the study. Relevant socio-demographic and obstetric information will be obtained and blood samples taken pre- and post- IPTp-SP administration at scheduled intervals for analysis. Microscopically confirmed parasitemic samples will be analyzed using PCR to detect drug resistance markers (pfdhfr and pfdhps). Participants will be followed up till 7days post-delivery and assessed for maternal and fetal outcomes (anemia, low birth weight, preterm delivery, placental parasitemia, stillbirth, early neonatal death). Data on occurrence of IPTp-SP resistance in Nigeria and West Africa is scarce, hence this study will add to the body of knowledge on this issue. The study shall be the first of its kind in our environment and as such it will serve to generate data on the picture of Sulfadoxine Pyrimethamine resistance. This data will help Government Public Health Officials to review current practices as it pertains to Intermittent Malaria Chemoprophylaxis in pregnancy. It will form a reference and benchmark for other studies that may be replicated in other geopolitical regions of the country so as to produce a national outlook of Sulfadoxine Pyrimethamine resistance. In keeping with the scope of EDCTP, this project will further improve the clinical research capacity of the investigators involved, and will avail other researchers and scientists of data and equipment for genotypic detection of such resistance traits within South West Nigeria.
Network	EDCTP2
Call	Training and Mobility Awards: Career Development Fellowships

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Babcock University	Coordinator	Niger