» Articles » PMID: 33822011

Pathogens That Cause Acute Febrile Illness Among Children and Adolescents in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, and Sudan

Abstract

Background: The etiology and optimal clinical management of acute febrile illness (AFI) is poorly understood.

Methods: Blood samples taken from study participants with acute fever (≥37.5°C) or a history of fever and recruited into the previous Typhoid Fever Surveillance in Africa (TSAP) study were evaluated using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based TaqMan-Array Card designed to detect a panel of bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens. Clinical metadata were also assessed.

Results: A total of 615 blood samples available for analysis originated from Burkina Faso (n = 53), Madagascar (n = 364), and Sudan (n = 198) and were taken from participants ranging in age from 0-19 years. Through the TaqMan-Array Card, at least 1 pathogen was detected in 62% (33 of 53), 24% (86 of 364), and 60% (118 of 198) of specimens from Burkina Faso, Madagascar, and Sudan, respectively. The leading identified pathogen overall was Plasmodium spp., accounting for 47% (25 of 53), 2.2% (8 of 364), and 45% (90 of 198) of AFI at the respective sites. In Madagascar, dengue virus was the most prevalent pathogen (10.2%). Overall, 69% (357 of 516) of patients with clinical diagnoses of malaria, respiratory infection, or gastrointestinal infection were prescribed a World Health Organization guideline-recommended empiric antibiotic, whereas only 45% (106 of 237) of patients with pathogens detected were treated with an antibiotic exerting likely activity.

Conclusions: A PCR approach for identifying multiple bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens in whole blood unveiled a diversity of previously undetected pathogens in AFI cases and carries implications for the appropriate management of this common syndrome.

Citing Articles

Automated post-run analysis of arrayed quantitative PCR amplification curves using machine learning.

Brintz B, Operario D, Brown D, Wu S, Wang L, Houpt E Gates Open Res. 2025; 9():1.

PMID: 39850072 PMC: 11756513. DOI: 10.12688/gatesopenres.16313.1.


Prescribing antibiotics for children with dengue infection in Taiwan: who are at risk and who are high prescribers?.

Shen Y, Lien C, Chou Y, Tsai T, Huang N Int J Qual Health Care. 2024; 36(2).

PMID: 38878061 PMC: 11197962. DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/mzae052.


Hidden Burden of on the African Continent: Should the Bacterial Infection Be Considered a Neglected Tropical Disease?.

Boodman C, Fongwen N, Pecoraro A, Mihret A, Abayneh H, Fournier P Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024; 11(2):ofad672.

PMID: 38370291 PMC: 10873695. DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofad672.


A Multi-Omics and Human Biomonitoring Approach to Assessing the Effectiveness of Fortified Balanced Energy-Protein Supplementation on Maternal and Newborn Health in Burkina Faso: A Study Protocol.

Bastos-Moreira Y, Ouedraogo L, De Boevre M, Argaw A, de Kok B, Hanley-Cook G Nutrients. 2023; 15(18).

PMID: 37764838 PMC: 10535470. DOI: 10.3390/nu15184056.


Etiology of acute febrile illness in the peruvian amazon as determined by modular formatted quantitative PCR: a protocol for RIVERA, a health facility-based case-control study.

Penataro Yori P, Paredes Olortegui M, Schiaffino F, Colston J, Pinedo Vasquez T, Garcia Bardales P BMC Public Health. 2023; 23(1):674.

PMID: 37041550 PMC: 10088183. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15619-6.


References
1.
Panzner U, Pak G, Aaby P, Adu-Sarkodie Y, Ali M, Aseffa A . Utilization of Healthcare in the Typhoid Fever Surveillance in Africa Program. Clin Infect Dis. 2016; 62 Suppl 1:S56-68. PMC: 4772834. DOI: 10.1093/cid/civ891. View

2.
Prasad N, Sharples K, Murdoch D, Crump J . Community prevalence of fever and relationship with malaria among infants and children in low-resource areas. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2015; 93(1):178-80. PMC: 4497891. DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.14-0646. View

3.
Tabue R, Njeambosay B, Zeukeng F, Esemu L, Fodjo B, Nyonglema P . Case Definitions of Clinical Malaria in Children from Three Health Districts in the North Region of Cameroon. Biomed Res Int. 2019; 2019:9709013. PMC: 6500661. DOI: 10.1155/2019/9709013. View

4.
Njama-Meya D, Clark T, Nzarubara B, Staedke S, Kamya M, Dorsey G . Treatment of malaria restricted to laboratory-confirmed cases: a prospective cohort study in Ugandan children. Malar J. 2007; 6:7. PMC: 1797179. DOI: 10.1186/1475-2875-6-7. View

5.
Iroh Tam P, Obaro S, Storch G . Challenges in the Etiology and Diagnosis of Acute Febrile Illness in Children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2016; 5(2):190-205. PMC: 7107506. DOI: 10.1093/jpids/piw016. View