Malaria Parasitemia among Febrile Patients Seeking Clinical Care at an Outpatient Health Facility in an Urban Informal Settlement Area in Nairobi, Kenya

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Am J Trop Med Hyg
• Personal Author:
  Njuguna, Henry N. ; Montgomery, Joel M. ; Cosmas, Leonard ; Wamola, Newton ; Oundo, Joseph O. ; Desai, Meghna ; Buff, Ann M. ; Breiman, Robert F.
• Description:
  Nairobi is considered a low-risk area for malaria transmission, but travel can influence transmission of malaria. We investigated the demographic characteristics and travel history of patients with documented fever and malaria in a study clinic in a population-based surveillance system over a 5-year period, January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2011. During the study period, 11,480 (68%) febrile patients had a microscopy test performed for malaria, of which 2,553 (22%) were positive. Malaria was detected year-round with peaks in January, May, and September. Children aged 5-14 years had the highest proportion (28%) of positive results followed by children aged 1-4 years (23%). Almost two-thirds of patients with malaria reported traveling outside Nairobi; 79% of these traveled to three counties in western Kenya. History of recent travel (i.e., in past month) was associated with malaria parasitemia (odds ratio: 10.0, 95% confidence interval: 9.0-11.0). Malaria parasitemia was frequently observed among febrile patients at a health facility in the urban slum of Kibera, Nairobi. The majority of patients had traveled to western Kenya. However, 34% reported no travel history, which raises the possibility of local malaria transmission in this densely populated, urban setting. These findings have important implications for malaria control in large Nairobi settlements.
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Ambulatory Care Facilities Child Child, Preschool Female Fever Humans Infant Malaria Male Parasitemia Urban Population

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• Source:
  Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2016; 94(1):122-127.
• Pubmed ID:
  26598567
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4710415
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Kenya
• Volume:
  94
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:4e12981c749e07523d7de52b566664ed08e0194d0783e62c9e713bc936dc924e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/37755/cdc_37755_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 893.61 KB ]