Aims: A lot of efforts have been made to minimize malaria transmission in the world, however, this infection still remains high among humans. Plasmodium infection among children under five is characterized by marked changes in hematopoietic cells as a result of the ability of the parasite to attack and destroy erythrocytes. This study was aimed at elucidating the changes in hematological profile caused by plasmodium parasites among infected children under five years.

Methods: A four month, cross sectional hospital-based study was conducted involving 255 children under five years infected with or without malaria parasite. Hematological profiles of the participants were assayed and comparison made with normal reference values. A total of 152 children were infected with malaria parasites with the remaining 103 children unaffected. About 2.5 milliliters of venous blood sample was collected from each participant into K3EDTA tubes. Full blood count and parasite species identification and quantification were done.

Results: The hemoglobin concentration and the platelet count were significantly lower among children with malaria infection than those without the parasites and the monocyte count was also significantly higher among children with malaria parasitemia than the control group. The red blood cells (RBC) numbers and the hemoglobin (Hb) level decreased significantly as severity of malaria increased while the monocyte count increased significantly as severity of malaria increased.

Conclusion: There are significant changes in the hematological profile of children under five infected with malaria parasites and these changes become profound as the severity of the infection increases

Keywords: Anemia, Malaria, Monocytosis parasite density, Thrombcytopenia