Subscribe free to our newsletters via your




EPIDEMICS
The hidden burden of dengue fever in West Africa
by Staff Writers
Coral Gables FL (SPX) Mar 04, 2015


File image.

Misdiagnosis of febrile illnesses as malaria is a continuing problem in Africa. A new study shows that in Ghana, dengue fever is circulating in urban areas and going undiagnosed. The authors of the study hope to use the findings to launch a widespread initiative to better understand acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses in West Africa.

"We believe dengue to be one of many diseases with classic fever and headache symptoms that are currently being misdiagnosed as malaria on a massive scale," said Justin Stoler, assistant professor of Geography in the University of Miami (UM) College of Arts and Sciences, and lead investigator of the study.

"The over-prescribing of anti-malarials puts evolutionary pressure on the malaria parasite that risks hastening its resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapy--the frontline drugs used to treat malaria in Africa," Stoler said. "Such resistance is already spreading across Southeast Asia."

Dengue is not contagious. The disease is transmitted from the bite of an infected mosquito. The study recently published in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene is the first to demonstrate evidence of local transmission of dengue virus in Ghana, rather than exposure being limited to cases brought back from other countries.

Due to limited resources, many healthcare facilities in Ghana use only a clinical examination to presumptively diagnose malaria. However, a definitive diagnosis requires a laboratory test.

In 2013, around 45 percent of all child outpatients, and 40 percent of all outpatients, received a clinical diagnosis of malaria after seeking treatment for febrile illness at health care facilities in Ghana's capital city, Accra. Yet, less than one third of all national malaria diagnoses were confirmed by blood tests.

Interestingly, the researchers looked for possible exposure to dengue in archived blood samples from children ages 2-14 years old who had been diagnosed with laboratory-confirmed malaria. The samples were collected at local health facilities from 2011 to 2014 in three ecological zones of Ghana: Navrongo, Kintampo, and Accra.

The findings show that of 218 children with laboratory-confirmed malaria, 21.6 percent tested positive for long-lasting dengue IgG antibodies, which imply any lifetime exposure to dengue virus, while 3.2 percent tested positive for short-term dengue IgM antibodies, which indicate recent exposure, generally in the previous 90 days.

"If these children who were confirmed to be malaria-positive also tested positive for dengue exposure, imagine what the incidence of dengue could be in unconfirmed malaria cases," Stoler said. "If these patterns hold in Ghana, then the misdiagnosis burden in other large urban areas in Africa could approach one-third of all outpatient visits, given the large volume of presumed malaria cases in health care facilities"

The hope for better health outcomes in the region lies in getting the diagnosis right.

"As the price and accuracy of rapid diagnostic tests and other diagnostic instruments improve, I think we have a chance to really make a difference in clinical settings facing huge burdens of acute undifferentiated febrile infections that I believe are being misdiagnosed," said Stoler, who also holds a position in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the UM Miller School of Medicine.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
University of Miami
Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





EPIDEMICS
Parasitism runs deep in malaria's family tree
Vancouver, Canada (SPX) Feb 27, 2015
The ancestors of a large family of parasites - including those that cause malaria - were equipped to become parasites much earlier in their lineage than previously assumed, according to University of British Columbia (UBC) research. The work, published this week in PNAS, traces the emergence of parasitism among apicomplexans - complex, single cell parasites that possess highly specialized ... read more


EPIDEMICS
Afghan president pledges relief fund for avalanche victims

Death toll from Afghan avalanches tops 200: officials

US Nuclear Facility Miscalculated Workers' Radiation Exposure

Kazakhstan Evacuating Village Where People Fall Asleep At Random

EPIDEMICS
Indian company to produce Sagem navigational system

Tehran keeps tighter leash on strays with GPS collars

China, Russia strengthen satellite navigation cooperation

India Interested in Russia's Glonass Satellite Navigation System

EPIDEMICS
Mystery of the reverse-wired eyeball solved

How does the human brain tackle problems it did not evolve to solve?

Nanotech and genetic interference may tackle untreatable brain tumors

Brain makes decisions with same method used to break WW2 Enigma code

EPIDEMICS
American birders anxious to explore, protect Cuban species

China ivory carving ban a 'symbolic' move: wildlife group

How mantis shrimp evolved many shapes with same powerful punch

Salish Sea seagull populations halved since 1980s

EPIDEMICS
Zombie outbreak? Statistical mechanics reveal the ideal hideout

Cholera epidemic kills 41 in Mozambique

Parasitism runs deep in malaria's family tree

Quick test for Ebola

EPIDEMICS
China official jailed for 17 years over jade bribes

Hong Kong police arrest 33 after anti-mainland march

New media, New China: Xinhua relaunch on barred networks

China's leaders meet with 'rule of law' on agenda

EPIDEMICS
Sagem-led consortium intoduces anti-piracy system

China arrests Turks, Uighurs in human smuggling plot: report

Two police to hang for murder in Malaysian corruption scandal

Nobel protester sought to draw attention to 'murdered Mexican students'

EPIDEMICS
China manufacturing improves in February: HSBC

China manufacturing shrinks again in February: govt

Protests blamed as Hong Kong misses growth targets

Britain's Standard Chartered bank says CEO to depart




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.