No asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia found among 108 young children at one health facility in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Malaria Journal

Research

Nina Langeland¹  Bjørn Blomberg²  Gro EA Strøm³  Maulidi Fataki⁴  Marit G Tellevik⁵ 

[1] Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway;Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway;National Centre for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway;Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway;National Centre for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway;Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania;Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania;Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania;National Centre for Tropical Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway;

关键词: Malaria;    Asymptomatic infection;    Dried blood spots;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1475-2875-12-417

 received in 2013-07-29, accepted in 2013-11-12,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAsymptomatic malaria parasitaemia has been reported in areas with high malaria transmission. It may serve as a reservoir for continued transmission, and furthermore complicates diagnostics, as not all individuals with a positive malaria test are necessarily ill due to malaria, although they may present with malaria-like symptoms. Asymptomatic malaria increases with age as immunity to malaria gradually develops. As mortality and morbidity of malaria is higher among younger children it is important to know the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia in this population in order to interpret laboratory results for malaria correctly.MethodsA total of 108 children that had neither been treated for malaria nor had a fever the previous four weeks were recruited consecutively at a maternal and child health clinic (MCHC) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. A rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for malaria and dried blood spot (DBS) on filter paper were taken from each child. Social and clinical data were recorded. DNA was extracted from the DBS of study participants by a method using InstaGene™ matrix. PCR targeting the Plasmodium mitochondrial genome was performed on all samples.ResultsMedian age was 4.6 months (range 0.5-38). All the RDTs were negative. PCR was negative for all study subjects.ConclusionThe study suggests that asymptomatic malaria may not be present in apparently healthy children up to the age of three years in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. However, because of the small sample size and low median age of the study population, the findings cannot be generalized. Larger studies, including higher age groups, need to be done to clarify whether asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia is present in the general population in the Dar es Salaam area.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Strøm et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013