Group A Streptococcus (GAS) infections, caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, are a major health concern among children under 12 years, leading to conditions such as tonsillitis, rheumatic fever, and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis. Accurate diagnosis is essential for effective treatment and prevention. This study aimed to develop and validate a Clinical Prediction Rule (CPR) for predicting the presence of S. pyogenes in throat swabs from children under 12. We analyzed clinical and laboratory data from 1,015 pediatric patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of GAS infection at Federal University Teaching Hospital, Owerri, Imo State, between January 2019 and December 2022. S. pyogenes was first isolated from throat swabs cultured on blood agar, and 233 positive isolates were further identified using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) targeting the Spy 1258 gene, with DNA extracted via boiling and confirmed through phenotypic methods. Data from these 233 identified cases were used to develop and validate the CPR. Variables examined included gender, age, ward of admission, clinical diagnosis, and antibiotic susceptibility. Logistic regression modeling identified significant predictors of S. pyogenes presence, with potential biases minimized through systematic case review, standardized data extraction and cross-checking by multiple reviewers. Among the 233 cases analyzed, the mean age was 4 ± 0.25 years, with 62.7% under age 3. Tonsillitis was the predominant diagnosis, with GAS prevalence ranging from 56.7% to 69.3%. Antibiotic susceptibility test result varied, with significant predictors including Sepsis/Tonsillitis and ear discharge/tonsillitis (p < 0.001). The CPR model demonstrated a sensitivity of 95.4% and a specificity of 36.8%, highlighting its potential to enhance clinical diagnosis and management of GAS infections. This study offers valuable insights into predictors of S. pyogenes infection in pediatric patients and highlights the CPR’s potential for improving clinical diagnosis and management.

Abstract Background: COVID-19 and malaria syndemic poses colossal challenge in prompt diagnosis and effective management of both infections especially in tropical regions. Therefore, this survey was conducted in order to ascertain the seroprevalence of SARS-COV-2 antibodies and malaria parasite in a university located in the south-eastern part of Nigeria, shortly after the waves of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Method: A total of 600 participants (400 students and 200 staff) who had provided informed consent, were randomly selected from the School of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Technology Owerri. Questionnaires were administered to collect data on respondents’ demographics and clinical history. Then, blood samples were aseptically collected by needle prick and tested for COVID-19 and malaria using the SARS-COV-2 IgM/IgG antibody test kit and the malaria test kit (Malaria Pf (HRP2) respectively. Results: Malaria and COVID-19 co-infection rates observed among the staff and students in this survey were 5% and 1.8% respectively. Out of the 200 staff tested in this study, 45(22.5%) were IgG positive, 0(0%) were positive for IgM while 10(5%) tested positive to malaria parasite. Although, all IgG positives were junior staff. Then, amongst the 400 students tested, 37(9.25%) tested positive for IgG while none (0%) were IgM positive but, 62(15.5%) were positive for Plasmodium falciparum infection. The interrelated symptoms of malaria and COVID-19 mostly observed in our respondents were fever, headache and fatigue. Conclusion: Results from this study further explained that the level of co-infection prevalence varies directly with the level of malaria prevalence and vice versa.

Introduction: In Malaria endemic countries, gestational and cord blood malaria prevalence are highly variable. A comprehensive study to determine the prevalence of placental and cord malaria has not been undertaken in Imo state, south eastern Nigeria. Thus, the need to determine prevalence of placenta and chord blood with Plasmodium falciparum infection among pregnant mothers and their neonates in Federal university teaching hospital Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. Methodology: A hospital based cross sectional study was carried out between the months of July 2021 and June, 2022 in some public and private hospitals in Owerri, south eastern Nigeria. Malaria transmission is stable with a high seasonal transmission from July to October. Placental and umbilical cord blood was collected into an EDTA bottle from mothers who consented and their neonates respectively at delivery. The presence of Plasmodium speciewas assessed microscopically and quantified by WHO Certified Malaria Microscopists. Parasite density was determined using WHO malaria microscopy protocol. Malaria parasite density was grouped as 1-500parasites/µl, 501-5,000parasites/µl (low), 5,001–10,000 parasites/µl (high), and >10,000 parasites/µl (very high) respectively for ease of analysis. Data was analyzed considering the parasite density grouping and parity while placenta and cord malaria prevalence were determined. Results: Placental and congenital malaria prevalence by microscopy was 21.3% vs. 8.2%. The primigravid had the highest infection rate of 33.0%. Considering the relationship between infection prevalence and parity of pregnancy, there was a significant difference P=.001. 4.2% of 119 neonate and 13.6% of 88 neonates from multigravid and primigravid mothers respectively examined had cord malaria. There was significant difference P=.002 comparing cord malaria infection prevalence and parity of pregnancy of matched mothers. The relationship between parasite malaria density and parity of pregnancy both in placental and cord malaria were not significant. Age group 20-25 years (45%) had the highest Prevalence while age groups 26-30 years recorded a prevalence of 33.3% for the primigravid and multigravid groups, respectively (P<0.05). The Geo mean range of 220 (3-8,250) vs. 23(2-6,412) parasite/µl of blood were recorded in primipare vrs multipare group. The result of this study showed moderate placental malaria infection and a low prevalence of cord malaria by microscopy. The presence of malaria parasites in cord blood at delivery and non in maternal placental blood was also demonstrated. There is a significant association between ITN (Insecticide-Treated Net) usage compliance rate and gravidity (primigravid vs. multigravid) among pregnant mothers. There is also a statistically significant relationship between age and gravidity in the occurrence of placenta malaria, as indicated by the chi-square test results. Conclusion: Antenatal exposure to malaria parasites may have profound effects on the fetus therefore prevention of malaria infection during pregnancy which may reduce the incidence of adverse perinatal outcomes should be strongly advocated.

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and malaria syndemic poses colossal challenge in prompt diagnosis and effective management of both infections especially in tropical regions. Therefore, this survey was conducted in order to ascertain the seroprevalence of SARS-COV-2 antibodies and malaria parasite in a Federal University of Technology Owerri, located in the south-eastern part of Nigeria, shortly after the waves of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The study was carried out among staff and students in the School of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria within the age range of twenty-one (21) and above. Method: A total of 600 randomly selected participants (400 students and 200 staff) who had provided informed consent, were randomly selected from the School of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Technology Owerri. Questionnaires were administered to collect data on respondents’ demographics and clinical history. Then, blood samples were aseptically collected by needle prick and tested for COVID-19 and malaria using the SARS-COV-2 IgM/IgG antibody test kit and the malaria test kit (Malaria Pf (HRP2) respectively. Results: Malaria and COVID-19 co-infection rates observed among the staff and students in this survey were 5% and 1.8% respectively. Out of the 200 staff tested in this study, 45(22.5%) were IgG positive, 0(0%) were positive for IgM while 10(5%) tested positive to malaria parasite. Although, all IgG positives were junior staff. Then, amongst the 400 students tested, 37(9.25%) tested positive for IgG while none (0%) were IgM positive but, 62(15.5%) were positive for Plasmodium falciparum infection. The interrelated symptoms of malaria and COVID-19 mostly observed in our respondents were fever, headache and fatigue. Conclusion: Results from this study further explained that the level of co-infection prevalence varies directly with the level of malaria prevalence and vice versa.

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus among patients attending Christ the king hospital, Ideato south, Imo state. Blood samples from 300 patients (108 female and 192 male) at the Christ the King hospital in Ogueme Ntueke, Ideato South, Imo state, were collected for the purpose of identifying the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) using traditional serological methods. Among the 300 patients, 8.3% tested positive for hepatitis B (4.6% female and 10.4% male). [The highest prevalence of the virus was found in the age group (31 - 40), followed by (11 - 20) and (61 - 70) with 0% prevalence, (21- 30) with (5.1%), (41- 50), (51- 60) with (8.5%), and (41-70) with (3.8%). Sharp object use, tattooing, tonsillectomy, circumcision, and other risk factors all contributed to the virus's spread. The study participants at Christ the King Hospital had a significantly higher prevalence of hepatitis as indicated by the p value of 0.005. Thus, it is strongly advised to read health awareness materials and be informed of the risks of getting this infection].

A total of 120 wound swabs were submitted by patients attending various hospitals in the South East Zone of the Nigerian metropolis of Owerri. The samples were taken from infected wounds that were left untreated for more than a month. The patients were between the ages of 16 and 72. 51 women and 69 men were present. Although none of the subjects got antifungal medication, they all used antibiotics in some capacity. The swabs were cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar (SDA) with Chloramphenicol and Brain Heart Infusion Agar (BHI) and incubated at 25°C for up to 21 days. Negative cultures were removed after 28 days. Positive cultures were identified based on their growth rate, colony morphology, and microscopic morphology. A tease mount was made on each mold isolation to help with identification. A germ tube test was used to identify Candida albicans, and a moist preparation was used to identify yeast isolates. Of the 11 individuals, 3 (27.3%) had Zygomycetes isolates, of which 2 (18%) were Rhizopus and 1 (9.1%) was Mucor. 7 of the individuals (63.7%), of whom 3 (27.3%) were Candida tropicalis and 4 (36.4%) were Candida albicans, had isolated Candida species. Trichophyton rubrum isolate was found in 1 (9.1%) of the subjects. The statistical analysis showed no statistically significant differences between the male and female groups or the proportion of isolates found. In spite of this, there was a significant difference between the groups with and without isolates (p.001), with the difference favoring the group without isolates. The number of isolates found and the various kinds of wounds showed no discernible difference either. There was no obvious difference between the different age groups and the proportion of isolates found, nor between the different institutions that provide wound dressing and the isolates found. The high rate of fungus-related wound infections found in the study and the absence of antifungal therapy in wound care underscores the need to increase public awareness of fungus-related wound infections and incorporate antifungal therapy into the management of chronic wounds.

Background: Quality laboratory services are needed to direct reasonable malaria case management through malaria microscopy and rapid diagnostic test. This study assessed the existing diagnostic capacities including laboratory structures and systems, human resource, skills and competences, using the standardized WHO/NMEP EQA assessment tool. Methodology: Data were collected by an assessment team using a standardized assessment instrument/checklist drawn from WHO/NMEP assessment tool and analyzed with Open Data Kit (ODK) and Open-source suite of tools on Android mobile devices from September 3-11, 2020. The use of ODK allowed data to be collated offline where internet services were poor or unavailable and uploaded thereafter. Results: Of the 24 laboratory facilities assessed, diagnostic services on malaria are routinely done with combined malaria rapid diagnostic test (mRDT) and microscopy at 17 (65.0%) laboratories, microscopy only at 7 (27.0%)laboratories, while only mRDT was performed in 1 (3.8%) laboratory due to lack of functional microscopes, supplies, or trained personnel in microscopy. In the 24 facilities providing laboratory services, 16 (63.0 %) had one of the staff received basic malaria microscopy and mRDT training in the year prior to the assessment, and 23 (96.0%) of the laboratories had at least one functional electric binocular microscope. None of the laboratory had a good structured quality assurance/quality control procedure or standard operating procedures for either microscopy or mRDT. Conclusion: There were gaps in laboratory services due to lack of well-established quality control framework and ineffective communication system, which could have substantial impacts on the quality and accessibility of malaria diagnosis. These issues can be addressed by improving laboratory services. French title: Évaluation de base par les établissements de santé de l'assurance qualité pour le diagnostic du paludisme dans les laboratoires hospitaliers gouvernementaux existants dans l'État de Sokoto, au Nigéria Contexte: Des services de laboratoire de qualité sont nécessaires pour diriger une prise en charge raisonnable des cas de paludisme grâce à la microscopie du paludisme et au test de diagnostic rapide. Cette étude a évalué les capacités de diagnostic existantes, y compris les structures et les systèmes de laboratoire, les ressources humaines, les aptitudes et les compétences, à l'aide de l'outil d'évaluation EQA standardisé de l'OMS/NMEP. Méthodologie: Les données ont été collectées par une équipe d'évaluation à l'aide d'un instrument d'évaluation/liste de contrôle standardisée tirée de l'outil d'évaluation de l'OMS/NMEP et analysées avec Open Data Kit (ODK) et une suite d'outils open source sur les appareils mobiles Android du 3 au 11 septembre 2020 L'utilisation d'ODK a permis de rassembler les données hors ligne lorsque les services Internet étaient médiocres ou indisponibles et de les télécharger par la suite. Résultats: Sur les 24 établissements de laboratoire évalués, les services de diagnostic du paludisme sont systématiquement effectués avec un test de diagnostic rapide du paludisme combiné (mRDT) et une microscopie dans 17 laboratoires (65,0%), la microscopie uniquement dans 7 laboratoires (27,0%), tandis que seul le mRDT a été effectué. dans 1 (3,8%) laboratoire en raison du manque de microscopes fonctionnels, de fournitures ou de personnel qualifié en microscopie. Dans les 24 établissements fournissant des services de laboratoire, 16 (63,0 %) avaient un membre du personnel ayant reçu une formation de base en microscopie du paludisme et mRDT au cours de l'année précédant l'évaluation, et 23 (96,0%) des laboratoires avaient au moins un microscope binoculaire électrique fonctionnel. Aucun des laboratoires ne disposait d'une bonne procédure structurée d'assurance qualité/contrôle qualité ou de modes opératoires normalisés pour la microscopie ou le mRDT. Conclusion: Il y avait des lacunes dans les services de laboratoire en raison de l'absence d'un cadre de contrôle de la qualité bien établi et d'un système de communication inefficace, ce qui pourrait avoir des impacts substantiels sur la qualité et l'accessibilité du diagnostic du paludisme. Ces problèmes peuvent être résolus en améliorant les services de laboratoire.

There are a few investigations on malaria in pregnancy; however, examinations zeroing in on the discernment and current acts of malaria counteraction and treatment among pregnant women are scanty.This examination was pointed toward evaluating the information, recognitions about malaria anticipation with accentuation on information about placental malaria too consistence to utilization of LLIN and IPTP among pregnant women in Owerri, South Eastern Nigeria.A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at an emergency department, Federal Medical Centre, Owerri using a pretested questionnaire from 200 randomly selected consenting pregnant women.Acknowledgment of malaria manifestations during pregnancy, information about IPTP and placenta malaria were things used to survey the degree of information about malaria in pregnancy.Their blood tests were additionally diagnosed for malaria parasitaemia.Malaria prevalence in the examination populace by microscopy was 13.5%.Additionally 62% of the respondents were learned about the conceivable impeding impacts of the existences of malaria during pregnancy.About 79.5% of the respondent decidedly related

Background: Malaria is a major cause of fever in endemic countries, although the prevalence of malaria has been declining across Sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion of clinical presentation attributable to febrile illness due to malaria to febrile illnesses have remained high. It is therefore important to determine the proportion of fever cases attributable to malaria. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among children aged 1-72 months presenting at a tertiary facility in Imo state Nigeria from 1st March, 2014 to 31st October, 2015. Children between 1-72 months of age with documented fever at presentation or history of fever in the last 24 hours without signs of severe malaria and those without any history of anti-malarial drugs administration were considered eligible. Fever was regarded as axillary temperature of ≥37.5°C. For all subjects (febrile and afebrile), the presence of Plasmodium falciparum was assessed microscopically by a WHO Certified malaria microscopist. Malaria parasite density was grouped as 1-1000, 1001–10000, and >10,000 parasites/µl respectively according to World Health Organization guidelines for grouping malaria parasitamae while data was analysed using SPSS 20.1v. Results: Overall malaria prevalence of both febrile and afebrile at point of assessment but with history of fever in the last 24 hours was 24.3%. Prevalence by microscopy was 26% among the 289 children who were febrile as at point of examination. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between malaria prevalence in males as against females. Age group 49-72 months had the highest prevalence (42.6%), while age groups 25-48 and 1-24 months recorded prevalence of 35.7% and 25%, respectively (P<0.05). About 22.5% of afebrile patients had positive Plasmodium parasitaemia. The Geo-mean (range) of parasitaemia was 1427(8-180,000) parasite/µl while mean body temperature ± SD was 37.0±0.9°C. About 8% of the children had high parasite density. Conclusion: Plasmodium falciparum although linked with majority of fever is not the cause of fever in all instances. Healthcare providers should make more effort to correctly diagnose non-malaria febrile cases so as to optimize clinical outcomes for the patients and minimize possible over diagnosis and overtreatment of malaria.

We assessed the quality status of surface and ground waters used for drinking in Ikwo, Southeast Nigeria, using the physicochemical and bacteriological qualities, and antimicrobial susceptibility profiles following standard procedures. Overall. the mean values of the physicochemical qualities of the water samples revealed the following: colour (brown/dark-brown/colourless), odour (objectionable), temperature (28–30 °C), pH (6.30–7.50), electrical conductivity (12.94–12.99 µs cm−1), total dissolved solids (7.74–7.80 mg L−1), alkalinity (0.3–1.4 mg L−1), hardness (19–252 mg L−1), chloride (0.8–3.1 mg L−1), copper (0.01–0.72 mg L−1) and zinc (0.03–1.49 mg L−1). Only nitrate was not detected all through. Likewise, total heterotroph, coliform and Escherichia coli counts ranged from 1.16 to 6.96 × 103 cfu mL−1, 150 to 2400 MPN/100 mL and 45 to 345 CFU/100 mL, respectively. The antimicrobial susceptibility profiles showed that the E. coli isolates were relatively susceptible to gentamycin (58%) and levofloxacin (50%), with high percentages of the isolates displaying resistance against tetracycline (78%), norfloxacin (76%), nalidixic acid (76%), augmentin (68%), ampiclox (62%), doxycycline (62%) and amoxil (52%). While the physicochemical parameters were generally within the permissible limits of the WHO guidelines, reverse is the case for the bacteriological loads. Exceedance of bacteriological water quality criteria and prevalence of multidrug-resistant E. coli indicate high levels of microbial and drug pollutants in the waters, rendering them unfit for direct human ingestion without proper pretreatment.

Background Malaria diagnosis in Nigeria was largely done based on clinical presentations until recently when the policy on parasitological confirmation of all suspected malaria cases before treatment was released by the government in 2011. One of the possible causes of over-diagnosis and over treatment of malaria in Nigeria is poor utilization of Malaria test results in health care delivery. This study demonstrates the influence of in-service training on malaria microscopy amongst medical laboratory scientists on the utilization of malaria microscopy results in a selected Government Health Facility in Nigeria. Method The base line study was conducted in 2014 while a follow up study where pre tested questionnaire on perception and utilization of malaria microscopy results by Health care providers in malaria case management were administered to end users of laboratory results in selected secondary health facilities; Basic malaria microscopy training was subsequently conducted for medical laboratory scientists working in these selected facilities in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) basic microscopy training manual. The training was followed up by a supportive supervision visit to the Medical Laboratories where other factors that can adversely affect microscopy results such as the necessary equipment and reagents for staining and visualization, good working conditions were addressed and put in place by the participating health facilities.Furthermore, During the basic and refresher training, Test scores was extracted using Microsoft Office Excel® 2010 template; data was cleaned and exported to Stata 11, Stata Corp. 2009. Stata Statistical Software: Release 11 . College Station, TX: Stata Corp LP for data analysis. To assess the performance after the training intervention, paired-test was used to determine if there was any significant difference between the performance scores before and after the training and between the basic and refresher training. Result The study demonstrates a significant improvement in both the basic and refresher training mean parasite detection pre-and post-tests scores from 56.3% (95% CI 53.6-58.8%) to 77.7% (95% CI 74.4-80.2%) and 76.7 (95% CI 74.2-79.2%) to 91.2% (95% CI 88.3-94.1%)( P < 0.001). Comparing the baseline and follow up study, and the assessment of facilities’ malaria test request and utilization pattern within the study period,there was significant difference when comparing the rate of utilization of malaria result from the trained Medical Laboratory Scientists ( p < 0.001). Conclusion The increase in utilization of malaria microscopy result for effective case management of malaria in the study area was influenced by training outcome and competency of Medical Laboratory Scientists.

This research was designed as an innovation in the use of ugba as a food condiment. Production of “ugba” cubes from fermented seeds of Pentaclethramacrophylla (“ugba”) was successfully carried out. Ugba seeds were dehulled after soaking overnight in warm water and shredded. Fermentation of the shredded “ugba” seeds was done using Bacillus subtilis pure culturedisolated from already fermented “ugba”. Initial microbial study of the unfermented “ugba” showed the presence of Bacillus, Enterobacter, Penicillium, Aspergillus and yeast species. The initial bacterial count of the unfermented seed was 1.4 x 105cfu/g. Microbial counts of the “ugba” seeds after three days fermentation showed a disappearance of other microbial species except Bacillus species which was up to 9.60 x 104cfu/g. The shredded and fermented ugbaseeds were later milled and formed into cubes in a mould and oven dried.Sodium benzoate was used as a preservative. There was a drastic reduction of microbial count from 9.60 x 104cfu/g to 4.80 x 104cfu/g in “ugba” cubes preserved with sodium benzoate. Proximate composition of the “ugba” cubes showed increased levels of carbohydrates, ash and fibre content and a reduction in moisture protein and fats. Toxicological analysis of Bacillus fermented ugba presented low levels of hydrocyanic acid and soluble oxalates when compared with the unfermented sample. An overall acceptability of the ugba cubes was rated very highly when sensory evaluation was tested. This study recommends the use of Bacillus subtilis fermented nutritionally rich ugba cubes as a new innovation that will promote its acceptability worldwide.Keywords: Ugba, fermentation, Bacillus subtilis, sodium benzoate

This study is aimed at extracting lipase enzyme from three lactic acid bacteria and some fungi for a comparative study of their lipase activities. Lipase enzyme is useful in the degradation and detoxification of “bad”cholesterol in food and raw materials. In this study the submerged fermentation method was applied in the extraction of lipase from Lactobacillusplantarum, Lactobacilluscasei and Lactobacillus fermentumand the fungal isolates. Their corresponding lipase activity values were 1.2μmol/min/ml (Lactobacillusplantarum), 0.7μmol/min/ml(Lactobacilluscasei) and 1.9 μmol/min/ml (Lactobacillus fermentum). The fungi isolate namely G4 (Penicillium spp.), G5 (Rhizopus spp.), M3 (Aspergillus niger), M4 (Fusarium oxysporium) and M8 (Fusarium moniliforme), had the following corresponding lipase activity values: G4 (11.25 μmol/min/ml), G5 (2.92 μmol/min/ml), M3 (3.75 μmol/min/ml), M4 (2.92 μmol/min/ml) and M8 (6.25 μmol/min/ml). The result of the study indicates that microbial enzymes from fungi had better potentials as best sources of lipase degrading enzymes. The high level of lipase activity from fungi could be attributed to the fact that most fungi are spore formers and the multiplicity of spores could enhance increased lipase production. It is therefore recommended that researchers should source lipase enzymes both for environmental bioremediation and degradation of unhealthy fats in foodstuff from fungi species.Keywords: Lipase, fungi, Lactobacillus, degradation, fermentation

Fermented soymilk (soy yoghurt) was prepared from soybeans using Lactobacillus bulgaricus (LB) and Streptococcus thermophilus (ST) as starter cultures. The cultures were isolated from whole milk yoghurt using MRS media. The isolates were identified, then acclimatized and inoculated into soymilk to achieve optimization prior to inoculation into the soymilk for fermentation. The aim of this study was to determine whether fermented soymilk could stop diarrhea in mice infected with Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC). Mice were orally infected with EPEC and the infected mice were seen to manifest symptoms of diarrhea such as frequent passage of loose and watery stool. Oral feeding of the mice with the soy yoghurt relieved the mice from the visible signs and symptoms of diarrhea. In addition, a new set of mice that had been regularly fed with the soy yoghurt were infected with the same Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC). Results obtained showed that those mice remained healthy as no syndrome of diarrhea manifested. Keywords: Eneropathogenic, Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus bulgaricus (LB), Streptococcus thermophilus (ST), Fermented soymilk, diarrhea.

Background: Understanding the impact of malnutrition on pro and anti- inflammatory cytokine response in Plasmodium falciparum (p.f) infected children is very important for malaria control. This study specifically examined the balance between Interleukin 10, Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF) and nutritional status of Plasmodium falciparum malaria infected children in South Eastern Nigeria to determine and evaluate the influence of malnutrition on immune response among p.f Infected children in Imo State Nigeria. Methods & Materials: Ethical considerations were duly observed. Children aged 1-72 months with ongoing fever or history of fever within the last 24 hours and with no sign suggestive of severe malaria were involved in this study. Blood films stained with giemsa and rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kit were used to diagnose malaria parasitemia. Their Nutritional status was determined using the international Reference Population defined by the U.S National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). IL-10 and TNF were assayed by ELISA. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 17. Results: A total of 1344 febrile chilren were involved in this study. From this group 26.3% and 31.5% were positive for malaria parasites microscopically and through the RDT kit respectively. The cytokines were associated significantly with malaria infection. IL-10/TNF ratio was significantly associated with parasite density and age (p<0.05). IL-10/TNF ratio was lower in children 1-24 months when compared with older children. There was however no significant association between the nutritional status of these chilren and malaria infection. Non significant proportions were stunted (22.9%), Under weight (9.4%) and wasted (5.2%). Stunting, underweight and wasting cut across the study population. These findings show no significant relationship between presence of malaria and stunting, Underweight and wasting,rather stunting and wasting were associated with age (p< 0.05). There was no relationship observed between the IL-10 and TNF cytokines levels and the nutrional status of the study population. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that there is no association between malnutrition and malaria as well as between the nutritional status of the study population and their cytokine level