Levels of serum zinc and severity of malaria in under-fives: any relationship? Experience from Benin, Edo State.

Background: It remains uncertain why some individuals infected with Plasmodium falciparum develop severe disease while others do not. This may be due to differences in immunological status of the individuals. Zinc levels may play some roles in the immune competence of such individuals as manifested in its effects on some clinical and laboratory parameters. Objective: To determine the relationship between serum zinc levels and some laboratory and clinical parameters in under-five children with malaria. Methods: The study was conducted at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City between March and November 2003 and involved 640 under-five children. Of these, 384 children had parasitologically proven malaria while 256 were healthy controls. Determination of zinc in sera was done using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry. Results: Mean serum zinc level of patients with severe/complicated malaria (13.7 ± 9.4μmol/l) was significantly lower than that obtained in non-severe/uncomplicated malaria (17.1±8.0 μmol/l; t =3.67; p =0.000). There was a negative correlation between malaria parasite density and serum zinc levels (r = -0.101, p < 0.05). A similar trend was observed between zinc levels and degree of pyrexia (r = -0.120; p < 0.05). Conclusion: Patients with severe malaria presenting with hyperpyrexia and hyperparasitaemia tended to have lower levels of serum zinc. Hypozincaemia is associated with severity of the disease either as a cause or effect. Recommendation: Similar studies should be conducted in other centres to validate the findings. Key Words: Serum Zinc, Malaria parasite density, Malaria, Under-fives.