Prevalence of chloroquine resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria in pregnant females attending North Indian hospital

Chloroquine resistance was first reported in South-east Asia and South America region and has now spread to the vast majority of malaria endemic countries. P. falciparum malaria is a cause of high morbidity and mortality in general population as well as in antenatal females. 1. To evaluate the accuracy of different diagnostic tests for diagnosis of malaria in pregnancy. 2. To determine the level of chloroquine resistance in P. falciparum isolates from pregnant females. The study was conducted in Department of Microbiology and Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital. A total of 156 pregnant females were included in the study. Diagnosis of malaria was done by blood smear examination or antigen detection assay or by Quantitative Buffey Coat assay. P. faciparum was cultured in RPMI 1640 medium and in-vitro drug sensitivity was done by microtest-II WHO sensitivity plates against chloroquine. P. falciparum culture was positive in 66 pregnant females. 28 isolates were found to be resistant to chloroquine. The effective concentration of chloroquine EC 50 was found to be 6.6, EC90 34.3, EC95 45.4, EC99 52.1 nmol/l. High level of chloroquine resistance in pregnant females can lead to serious complications in antenatal patients and their fetuses.