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. 2019 Mar 7;17(1):52.
doi: 10.1186/s12916-019-1291-z.

What causes severe malaria and its complications in children? Lessons learned over the past 15 years

Andrea L Conroy  1 , Dibyadyuti Datta  1 , Chandy C John  2
Affiliations

What causes severe malaria and its complications in children? Lessons learned over the past 15 years

Andrea L Conroy et al. BMC Med. .

Abstract

Over the past 15 years, malaria mortality has reduced by approximately 50%. However, malaria still causes more than 400,000 deaths annually, most of which occur in African children under 5 years of age. Significant advances in understanding the pathogenesis of the disease provide a basis for future work to prevent severe malaria and its complications. Herein, we provide an overview of advances in our understanding of severe malaria in African children over the past 15 years, highlighting key complications and identifying priorities to further reduce malaria-associated mortality.

Keywords: Acute kidney injury; Cerebral malaria; Cognitive; Impairment; Neurodevelopmental; Pathogenesis; Plasmodium falciparum; Severe malaria; Severe malarial anemia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Severe malaria and its complications
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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