Quantifying the contribution of Plasmodium falciparum malaria to febrile illness amongst African children
نویسندگان
چکیده
Suspected malaria cases in Africa increasingly receive a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) before antimalarials are prescribed. While this ensures efficient use of resources to clear parasites, the underlying cause of the individual's fever remains unknown due to potential coinfection with a non-malarial febrile illness. Widespread use of RDTs does not necessarily prevent over-estimation of clinical malaria cases or sub-optimal case management of febrile patients. We present a new approach that allows inference of the spatiotemporal prevalence of both Plasmodium falciparum malaria-attributable and non-malarial fever in sub-Saharan African children from 2006 to 2014. We estimate that 35.7% of all self-reported fevers were accompanied by a malaria infection in 2014, but that only 28.0% of those (10.0% of all fevers) were causally attributable to malaria. Most fevers among malaria-positive children are therefore caused by non-malaria illnesses. This refined understanding can help improve interpretation of the burden of febrile illness and shape policy on fever case management.
منابع مشابه
Clinical Pharmacology of the Antimalarial Artemisinin-Based Combination and other Artemisinins in Children
In 2010, there were estimated 219 million cases of malaria resulting in 666,000 deaths and two-thirds were children. Children are more vulnerable than adults to malaria parasites. In sub-Saharan African countries, maternal malaria is associated with up to 200,000 estimated infant deaths yearly. Malaria is caused by five Plasmodium parasites namely: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasm...
متن کاملClinical Pharmacology of the Antimalarial Quinine in Children
Quinine is the best studied drug for treating severe malaria in very young children. Quinine may be administered in pregnancy and, at therapeutic doses, malformations have not been reported. Some strains of quinine from Southeast Asia and South America have become resistant. Quinine is the treatment of choice for the drug-resistant severe Plasmodium falciparum. The antimalarial mechanism of qui...
متن کاملTreatment of Malaria Parasitaemia in Infants and their Mothers
Malaria is an infection sustained by three parasites namely: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, and Plasmodium ovale. Plasmodium falciparum is the most common and virulent parasite. These parasites are present in different areas of the sub-Saharan African countries and Asia. In 2010, there were an estimated 219 million cases of malaria resulting in 660,000 deaths and, approximately, two-t...
متن کاملPoint-of-admission hypoglycaemia among under-five Nigerian children with plasmodium falciparum malaria: prevalence and risk factors
Abstract Background: Hypoglycaemia is a well recognized complication of falciparum malaria in children but its diagnosis may be overlooked because all the clinical features may be mimicked by severe malaria. To determine the prevalence of hypoglycaemia at the point of hospital admission of under-fives with falciparum malaria and identify its risk factors in patients seen in a Nigerian...
متن کاملDefining Falciparum-Malaria-Attributable Severe Febrile Illness in Moderate-to-High Transmission Settings on the Basis of Plasma PfHRP2 Concentration
BACKGROUND In malaria-endemic settings, asymptomatic parasitemia complicates the diagnosis of malaria. Histidine-rich protein 2 (HRP2) is produced by Plasmodium falciparum, and its plasma concentration reflects the total body parasite burden. We aimed to define the malaria-attributable fraction of severe febrile illness, using the distributions of plasma P. falciparum HRP2 (PfHRP2) concentratio...
متن کامل