Malaria-associated morbidity during the rainy season in Saharan and sahelian zones in Mauritania.

Malaria-associated morbidity during the rainy season in Saharan and sahelian zones in Mauritania. Acta Trop. 2015 Aug 11; Authors: Ould Ahmedou Salem MS, Basco LK, Ouldabdellahi M, Lekweiry KM, Konaté L, Faye O, Mohamed Salem Boukhary A Abstract Reliable epidemiological data based on laboratory-confirmed cases are scarce in Mauritania. A large majority of reported malaria cases are based on presumptive clinical diagnosis. The present study was conducted to establish a reliable database on malaria morbidity among febrile paediatric and adult patients consulting spontaneously at public health centres in Nouakchott, situated in the Saharan zone, and in Hodh Elgharbi region in the sahelian zone in southern Mauritania during the peak transmission periods. Giemsa-stained thin and thick films were examined under the microscope, and the parasite density was determined according to the procedures recommended by the World Health Organization. Microscopy results were confirmed by rapid diagnostic test for malaria. A total of 1161 febrile patients (498 in Nouakchott and 663 in Hodh Elgharbi region) were enrolled during two successive peak transmission periods in 2009 and 2010. In Nouakchott, 253 (50.8%) febrile patients had positive smears (83% P. vivax monoinfections and 17% P. falciparum monoinfections). In Hodh Elgharbi, 378 of 663 patients (57.0%) were smear-positive, mostly due to P. falciparum monoinfections (96.6%). Unlike in Nouakchott,...
Source: Acta Tropica - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Tags: Acta Trop Source Type: research