Effect of environmental hygiene and water storage on the prevalence of malaria among pregnant women in Abeokuta, Nigeria

The effect of availability of cultivated and/or uncultivated land, stagnant water around residential areas and the practice of water storage on the prevalence of malaria infection was assessed among four hundred and sixty-four (464) pregnant women. The prevalence of malaria infection recorded at one stage of pregnancy or the other among enrolled women in this study was 56.9%. Records of infection observed among women living in areas where there were stagnant water and cultivated or uncultivated land were not statistically different from those without such environmental factors in their residence (P > 0.05). The practice of water storage though still a common practice among women in Abeokuta (98.9%) was also not found to significantly influence the malaria status of the pregnant women; infection was higher among women that did not store water in their homes than those that claim to store. Storing of water was mainly in containers with cover implying that the women have a good understanding of the necessary precaution for storing water in homes; there was also no significant difference between mode of water storage and parasitaemia. The physico-chemical composition of the tap water stored may have prevented the breeding of Anopheles mosquitoes in them. We conclude that water storage in homes may not be strong risk behaviour for malaria transmission especially in areas where appropriate measures are employed for water storage in homes.