International Journal of TROPICAL DISEASE & Health

Bacteremia concomitant with malaria remain one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity among children in Africa and the relationship between the two remains unclear. Therefore this study was carried out to determine if malaria predisposes children to bacteremia and the pathogenicity of bacterial isolates in bacteremia concomitant with malaria. A total of 34 bacteria strains belonging to 4 genera were isolated out of which 44.1% were E. coli, 29.4% were Staphylococcus aureus, 17.7% were Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 8.8% were Salmonella typhi. Fifty one (27.4%) of the children tested positive for malaria out of which fourteen (7.5%) had concomitant bacteremia and malaria, Thirty seven (19.9%) had malaria only while 20 (10.8%) had bacteremia only. Escherichia coli was the most common organisms found in bacteremia concomitant with malaria while Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the least with 8 (23.5%) and 1 (2.9%) cases of occurrence respectively. Bacteremia in concomitant with malaria was common in the age group 0-5 years with a prevalence of 12 (11.8%). LasB and PVL genes were detected in all (100%) of the selected Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus respectively. The stx1 and eae genes were also present in 50% of the selected E. coli. In conclusion, the results show that there is a weak association between bacteremia and malaria in the study area and that malaria did not predispose the children to bacteremia. The ability of the bacteria to invade and survive in the blood is due to the presence of some virulence genes and not malaria parasites.