Cocirculation of Plasmodium and Bacterial Deoxyribonucleic Acids in Blood of Febrile and Afebrile Children from Urban and Rural Areas in Gabon.

This study aimed to assess bacteremias and malaria in children from urban and rural areas in Gabon. DNA extracts from blood samples of 410 febrile and 60 afebrile children were analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Plasmodium spp. was the microorganism most frequently detected in febrile (78.8%, 323/410) and afebrile (13.3%, 8/60) children, (P < 0.001). DNA from one or several bacteria were detected in 17 febrile patients (3.7%) but not in the controls (P = 0.1). This DNA was more frequently detected as coinfections among febrile children testing positive for Plasmodium (4.6%, 15/323) than in those testing negative for Plasmodium (0%, 0/87; P = 0.04). The bacteria detected were Streptococcus pneumoniae 2.4% (10/410), Staphylococcus aureus 1.7% (7/410), Salmonella spp. 0.7% (3/410), Streptococcus pyogenes 0.2% (1/410) and Tropheryma whipplei 0.2% (1/410) only in febrile children. Coxiella burnetii, Borrelia spp., Bartonella spp., Leptospira spp., and Mycobacterium tuberculosis were not observed. This paper reports the first detection of bacteremia related to T. whipplei in Gabon and shows that malaria decreases in urban areas but not in rural areas. Coinfections in febrile patients are common, highlighting the need to improve fever management strategies in Gabon. PMID: 27114297 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Tags: Am J Trop Med Hyg Source Type: research