Profile of C-reactive protein, white cells and neutrophil populations in febrile children from rural north-eastern Tanzania.

Introduction: C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell (WBC) and absolute neutrophil counts (ANC) are important inflammatory biomarkers in the early diagnosis of infections. However, little is known on their profile and usefulness in fever case management in children attending outpatient clinic in rural north-eastern Tanzania.

Methods: Patients aged between 2 and 59 months presenting with fever at Korogwe District Hospital were enrolled.

Performance of rapid diagnostic test, blood-film microscopy and PCR for the diagnosis of malaria infection among febrile children from Korogwe District, Tanzania.

Background: Rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) and light microscopy are still recommended for diagnosis to guide the clinical management of malaria despite difficult challenges in rural settings. The performance of these tests may be affected by several factors, including malaria prevalence and intensity of transmission. The study evaluated the diagnostic performance of malaria RDT, light microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in detecting malaria infections among febrile children at outpatient clinic in Korogwe District, northeastern Tanzania.

Bloodstream bacterial infection among outpatient children with acute febrile illness in north-eastern Tanzania.

Background: Fever is a common clinical symptom in children attending hospital outpatient clinics in rural Tanzania, yet there is still a paucity of data on the burden of bloodstream bacterial infection among these patients.

Methods: The present study was conducted at Korogwe District Hospital in north-eastern Tanzania. Patients aged between 2 and 59 months with a history of fever or measured axillary temperature ≥37.

Aetiology of acute febrile episodes in children attending Korogwe District Hospital in north-eastern Tanzania.

Introduction: Although the burden of malaria in many parts of Tanzania has declined, the proportion of children with fever has not changed. This situation underscores the need to explore the possible causes of febrile episodes in patients presenting with symptoms at the Korogwe District Hospital (KDH).

Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted at KDH, north-eastern Tanzania.

Submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte carriage is common in an area of low and seasonal transmission in Tanzania.

Objective: Recently developed molecular gametocyte detection techniques have shown that submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes are common in symptomatic patients and can infect mosquitoes. The relevance for the infectious reservoir of malaria in the general population remains unknown. In this study, we investigated submicroscopic asexual parasitaemia and gametocytaemia in inhabitants of an area of hypoendemic and seasonal malaria in Tanzania.