Estimating the number of paediatric fevers associated with malaria infection presenting to Africa's public health sector in 2007.

ABSTRACT:

Background

As international efforts to increase the coverage of artemisinin-based combination therapy in public health sectors gather pace, concerns have been raised regarding their continued indiscriminate presumptive use for treating all childhood fevers. The availability of rapid-diagnostic tests to support practical and reliable parasitological diagnosis provides an opportunity to improve the rational treatment of febrile children across Africa. However, the cost effectiveness of diagnosis-based treatment polices will depend on the presumed numbers of fevers harbouring infection. Here we compute the number of fevers likely to present to public health facilities in Africa and the estimated number of these fevers likely to be infected with Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites.

SUBMITTER: Gething PW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2897768 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature