A retrospective study of malaria and malnutrition in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria.

Morbidity and mortality due to malaria and marasmic kwashiorkor were determined from hospital records in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital over five years. Malaria was found to be a significant cause of morbidity but was responsible for only 3.5% of the deaths that occurred during the period. This represents 0.3% of all infant deaths and 2.0% of deaths in children aged 1-4 years. The percentage of malaria deaths, 4.4% (1983), 5.2% (1984), 3.0% (1985) and 1.9% (1986), respectively showed a downward trend but went up again to 2.8% (1987), probably due to the treatment failures ascribed to chloroquine in the area. Malnutrition on the other hand, resulted in 174 deaths as opposed to 42 deaths due to malaria in children under six years of age. More of these deaths due to malnutrition (40.8%) occurred in children aged 2-3 years, just as the case with malaria (33.3%). 20.7% of these deaths occurred in infants. These results suggest that the pride of place, as a number one killer, goes to malnutrition while malaria is a serious cause of morbidity.