Malaria parasite positivity among febrile neonates

Enyuma, Coa; Meremikwu, MM; Udo, JJ; Anah, MU; Aa, Asindi

doi:10.4314/njp.v41i4.6

Cited by 6 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Similar studies of co-infection of neonates with malaria and septicaemia was observed in Nigeria [15,23] and Pakistan [22]. It is pertinent to note that majority of neonates with positive malaria parasite in the present study had normal white blood cell count.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

“…This was also observed in other centres in Nigeria [15,[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. The increase in the frequency of congenital malaria could be due to the growing trend of resistance of P. falciparum to anti malarial drugs resulting in increased parasitaemia, increased virulence of the parasite and reduced transmission of antibody from mother to child [2,4,5].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

“…It is however lower than the 13.6%, 13%, 8.25% and 4.0% observed in Lagos [18] Nigeria, Gambia [19], Kaduna [20] and Calabar [15] in Nigeria respectively. All studies in Port Harcourt have revealed high prevalences as compared to most other cities in Nigeria.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…The other clinical features observed in febrile neonates with positive malaria parasite in the present study were poor suck and jaundice. Poor suck was also observed to be the second commonest clinical feature in neonates with positive malaria parasite in the Gambia [19] and Sokoto [21], in Nigeria while jaundice ranked second in some other parts of Nigeria [15,18,23]. In contrast, irritability, fast breathing and hepatomegaly were common in other studies [15,19,21,23] variation in the clinical features is not surprising as these features are non-specific and variable [5].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Asexual malaria parasites were counted concomitantly with the leucocytes in each field and the parasite count recorded as the ratio of asexual forms per 200 leucocytes in each field. A slide is said to be negative if after examining a minimum of 200 leucocytes no malaria parasite was found [15]. For the purpose of this study, a neonate with fever was said to have congenital malaria if there was presence of malaria parasites in the peripheral blood film in the first seven days of life while acquired neonatal malaria was defined as the presence of malaria parasites in the peripheral blood film within 8-28 days of life [5].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Prevalence of Malaria among Neonates Presenting with Fever in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Opara¹

2017

NCP

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Prevalence of Malaria among Neonates Presenting with Fever in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Opara¹

2017

NCP

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Plasmodium falciparum neonatal malaria with atypical presentation: a case series from southwestern Ethiopia

Tesso,

Gossaye,

Bekana

et al. 2024

Malar J

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Background Neonatal malaria is defined as the detection of asexual stages of Plasmodium species in the cord blood within the first 28 days of life. It can be congenital or acquired through mosquito bites or blood transfusions. Neonates are generally considered to be relatively protected due to the multiple innate and acquired physiological protective effects present in neonates. However, in areas where malaria is endemic, the prevalence of malaria in neonates is high. The predominant clinical feature of malaria in neonates is fever. Other clinical manifestations of neonatal malaria include respiratory distress, pallor and anaemia, hepatomegaly, refusal to feed, jaundice and diarrhoea. Atypical presentations without fever can lead to inaccurate diagnosis and contribute to neonatal morbidity and mortality. Neonates from endemic areas with any of the above symptoms should be screened for malaria. Case presentation We present a series of three cases of neonatal Plasmodium falciparum malaria that presented atypically without febrile episodes and were diagnosed and managed at Mizan-Tepi University Teaching Hospital between July and September 2023. The first patient presented with vomiting, refusal to feed, pallor, severe anaemia, and splenomegaly. The second patient presented with an inconsolable cry, failure to pass feces, abdominal distention, and anaemia. The third patient presented with vomiting and anaemia. All patients received a 7-day course of intravenous artesunate; the first patient also received a blood transfusion. All patients recovered and were discharged. Conclusions Partial immunity resulting from repeated malaria infections in endemic regions may result in the transfer of high levels of maternal Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies through the placenta and can produce different atypical clinical presentations. In malaria-endemic areas, neonates presenting with any of the presenting signs and symptoms of malaria, including afebrile presentation, require malaria screening to avoid delays in diagnosis.

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A systematic review and meta-analysis of the aetiological agents of non-malarial febrile illnesses in Africa

et al. 2022

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Background The awareness of non-malarial febrile illnesses (NMFIs) has been on the rise over the last decades. Therefore, we undertook a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of causative agents of non-malarial fevers on the African continent. Methodology We searched for literature in African Journals Online, EMBASE, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases to identify aetiologic agents that had been reported and to determine summary estimates of the proportional morbidity rates (PMr) associated with these pathogens among fever patients. Findings A total of 133 studies comprising 391,835 patients from 25 of the 54 African countries were eligible. A wide array of aetiologic agents were described with considerable regional differences among the leading agents. Overall, bacterial pathogens tested from blood samples accounted for the largest proportion. The summary estimates from the meta-analysis were low for most of the agents. This may have resulted from a true low prevalence of the agents, the failure to test for many agents or the low sensitivity of the diagnostic methods applied. Our meta-regression analysis of study and population variables showed that diagnostic methods determined the PMr estimates of typhoidal Salmonella and Dengue virus. An increase in the PMr of Klebsiella spp. infections was observed over time. Furthermore, the status of patients as either inpatient or outpatient predicted the PMr of Haemophilus spp. infections. Conclusion The small number of epidemiological studies and the variety of NMFI agents on the African continent emphasizes the need for harmonized studies with larger sample sizes. In particular, diagnostic procedures for NMFIs should be standardized to facilitate comparability of study results and to improve future meta-analyses. Reliable NMFI burden estimates will inform regional public health strategies.

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Malaria parasite positivity among febrile neonates

Cited by 6 publications

References 0 publications

Prevalence of Malaria among Neonates Presenting with Fever in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Prevalence of Malaria among Neonates Presenting with Fever in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Plasmodium falciparum neonatal malaria with atypical presentation: a case series from southwestern Ethiopia

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the aetiological agents of non-malarial febrile illnesses in Africa

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