Placentary Malaria, What Biological Diagnosis?

The consequences of malaria associated with pregnancy result from the placental inflammation responsible for the disruption of fetal maternal exchanges causing suffering, weight loss and miscarriages. Thus, the biological diagnosis of placental malaria becomes an essential tool in the prevention of the consequences of malaria during pregnancy. Direct diagnostic techniques are more reliable, but because of the unavailability of the placenta during pregnancy indirect techniques are useful. However, implementation and interpretation of the diagnosis indirect results still a controversial issue at present. Recent studies are moving towards the identification of determining cytokines at the peripheral level of a consequent placental inflammation of placental malaria.