Malaria and helminth co-infections in outpatients of Alaba Kulito Health Center, southern Ethiopia: a cross sectional study

458 of the total febrile patients were positive for malaria. Co infection with Plasmodium and helminth parasites is associated with significantly (p < 0.001) higher anaemia prevalence than single infection with Plasmodium parasites. And this difference was also significant for haemoglobin concentration (F = 10.18, p = 0.002), in which patients co infected with Plasmodium and helminth parasites showed lower mean haemoglobin concentration. More than one-third of the infected cases in both malaria infections and malaria/helminth co infections are undernourished. However the statistics for the difference is not significant.Malaria and soil-transmitted helminthiasis obviously contribute to anaemia and low weight status and these conditions are more pronounced in individuals concurrently infected with malaria and soil-transmitted helminths. Hence, simultaneous combat against the two parasitic infections is very crucial to improve health of the affected communities.Overlapping distribution of intestinal helminths and malaria results in a high rate of co-infection [1,2], which may result both in synergism and antagonistic interaction between helminths and malaria parasites [3,4]. One of the main impacts of malaria and helminth infections is anaemia. Malaria causes anaemia, among other mechanisms through haemolysis and increased spleenic clearance of infected and uninfected red blood cells and cytokine-induced dyserythropoeisis [5,6]. Similarly, intestinal helminths are significant causes of anaemia as a result of direct blood loss, nutritional theft and impairment of the appetite due to immunological factor [7,8]. Based on the distinct mechanisms by which malaria and helminths reduce haemoglobin levels, it can be speculated that their combined presence might interact to enhance the risk of anaemia. And several reports [9-12] in Kenya, Nigeria, Thailand and some other countries of Africa showed suggestive of an additive impact of co-infection on anaemia in certain age groups