Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Apr 6;23(1):207.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-023-08133-y.

Severe malaria in children and adolescents in Southeast Gabon

Judicaël Boris Lendongo Wombo  1   2   3   4   5 , Euloge Ibinga  6   7 , Sandrine Lydie Oyegue-Liabagui  8   9   10 , Roméo Karl Imboumy Limoukou  8 , Alain Prince Okouga  8 , Franck Mounioko  11   10 , Sydney Maghendji-Nzondo  6   7 , Jean Bernard Lekana-Douki  8   12 , Edgard Brice Ngoungou  6   7
Affiliations

Severe malaria in children and adolescents in Southeast Gabon

Judicaël Boris Lendongo Wombo et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Introduction: Malaria remains a significant public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. Child mortality due to severe malaria remains high in developing countries despite improvements in malaria management and a better understanding of its pathophysiology. To address the lack of epidemiological studies on severe malaria in Gabon, this study describes the epidemiological aspects of severe malaria in rural, semi-rural, and urban areas of southeast Gabon.

Methods: Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data for children and adolescents aged 0-18 years were collected in 2019 from hospital records at three health facilities in southeastern Gabon. The patients included in the study were positive for P falciparum malaria diagnosed by microscopy with at least one of the malaria severity criteria.

Results: Severe malaria accounted for 18.8% (667/3552) of malaria cases. Children aged 0-5 years accounted for 71.8% (479/667) of all severe malaria cases. Adolescents over 15 years of age were the least affected by severe malaria with 4.2% (28/667). Across the study, severe anemia (49.0%, 327/667), convulsions (43.0%, 287/667), respiratory distress (5.1%, 34/667), and altered consciousness (4.8%, 32/667) were the most frequent clinical signs of severe malaria in children. Franceville was the locality most affected by severe malaria with 49.2% (328/667), followed by Koulamoutou with 42.0% (280/667) and Lastourville with 8.8% (59/667). Convulsions (50.6%, 166/328) and coma (6.1%, 20/328) were more frequent in children living in urban areas. In contrast, severe anemia (56.7%, 186/339) and jaundice (6.8%, 23/339) were more common in children living in semi-rural areas.

Conclusion: Severe malaria is more prevalent in urban areas in regions with a high malaria transmission intensity. However, in this study, the epidemiological characteristics of severe malaria were similar in the three settings (urban, rural, and semi-rural areas) despite different levels of urbanization. Nevertheless, the various signs of severity were more frequent in Franceville, an urban area. Children under 5 years of age remain the most vulnerable age group.

Keywords: Children; Malaria prevalence; Severe forms; Severe malaria.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors of this study declare no conflicts of interest. None of the authors have any financial or personal conflicts of interest related to this study. The corresponding author has full access to all study data and has final responsibility for the decision to submit this study.

References

    1. WHO . World malaria report 2021. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021.
    1. Gomes AP, Vitorino RR, Costa AdP. Mendonça EGd, Oliveira MGdA, Siqueira-Batista R. severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Revista Brasileira de Terapia Intensiva. 2011;23:358–69. doi: 10.1590/S0103-507X2011000300015. - DOI - PubMed
    1. WHO. World malaria report 2014. Severe Malaria.Tropical Medicine and International Health. 2014;19 suppl(John Wiley & Sons., 19).
    1. Flaxman AD, Fullman N, Otten MW, Jr, Menon M, Cibulskis RE, Ng M, et al. Rapid scaling up of insecticide-treated bed net coverage in Africa and its relationship with development assistance for health: a systematic synthesis of supply, distribution, and household survey data. PLoS Med. 2010;7(8):e1000328. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000328. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. WHO. World malaria report: 2012. World Health Organization; 2012.