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Prevalence of Asymptomatic Malaria Infections in Seemingly Healthy Children, the Rural Dzanga Sangha Region, Central African Republic

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  • Krzysztof Korzeniewski

    (Department of Epidemiology and Tropical Medicine, Military Institute of Medicine, 128 Szaserów St., 04-141 Warsaw, Poland
    Department of Occupational, Metabolic and Internal Diseases, Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, 9B Powstania Styczniowego St., 81-519 Gdynia, Poland)

  • Emilia Bylicka-Szczepanowska

    (4th Department of Infectious Diseases, Provincial Hospital for Infectious Diseases, 37 Wolska St., 01-201 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Anna Lass

    (Department of Tropical Parasitology, Institute of Maritime and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, 9B Powstania Styczniowego St., 81-519 Gdynia, Poland)

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization 94% of global malaria cases and 94% of global malaria deaths have been reported from Africa. Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine the exact prevalence of disease in some African countries due to a large number of asymptomatic cases. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of malaria infections in seemingly healthy children living in the Central African Republic (CAR). CareStart TM Malaria HRP2 rapid diagnostic test (RDT) targeting Plasmodium falciparum was used to test a group of 500 asymptomatic children aged 1-15 years old (330 settled Bantu and 170 semi-nomadic BaAka Pygmies) inhabiting the villages in the Dzanga Sangha region (south-west CAR) in March 2020. In total, 32.4% of asymptomatic Bantu and 40.6% of asymptomatic Pygmy children had a positive result of malaria RDT. Our findings allowed us to demonstrate the high prevalence of asymptomatic malaria infections in south-west CAR. RDTs seem to be a useful tool for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum in areas with limited possibilities of using other diagnostic methods, such as light microscopy and molecular biology.

Suggested Citation

  • Krzysztof Korzeniewski & Emilia Bylicka-Szczepanowska & Anna Lass, 2021. "Prevalence of Asymptomatic Malaria Infections in Seemingly Healthy Children, the Rural Dzanga Sangha Region, Central African Republic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-14, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:2:p:814-:d:482836
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Julius Ssempiira & Betty Nambuusi & John Kissa & Bosco Agaba & Fredrick Makumbi & Simon Kasasa & Penelope Vounatsou, 2017. "Geostatistical modelling of malaria indicator survey data to assess the effects of interventions on the geographical distribution of malaria prevalence in children less than 5 years in Uganda," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(4), pages 1-20, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Emilia Bylicka-Szczepanowska & Krzysztof Korzeniewski, 2022. "Asymptomatic Malaria Infections in the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience from the Central African Republic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-9, March.

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