Abstract
Travel-associated malaria is a health hazard, even in non-malaria endemic regions. This is a hospital-based retrospective study of 12,931 febrile patients who presented at King Fahad Hospital of the University (KFHU) from January 2009 to December 2019. Patients either returning from malaria endemic countries and/or for whom malaria was suspected, had blood films microscopically screened for malaria parasites. Malaria prevalence was very low in febrile patients attending KFHU. Out of the 12,931 febrile patients, 0.63% (n = 81) were malaria positive, all travel-related, except for one case of transfusion malaria. Indian nationals were the most infected (29.6%, n = 24), followed by Sudanese nationals (24.7%, n = 20). P. falciparum (47%, n = 38) and P. vivax (42%, n = 24) were the predominant species. The majority of P. falciparum (64.5%, n = 20) cases were from African nationals and the majority of P. vivax (72.7%, n = 24) cases were from Asia. The highest percentage of malaria patients were adult (90%, n = 73), males (85.2%, n = 69), ages ranged from 6 to 65, with a mean of 34.6 years. Most of the malaria cases presented at the emergency room (ER), only 3 required critical care. Only sex, hospitalized in-patient (IP) and attendance at ER were statistically associated with malaria. In the presence of a potential vector, travel-associated malaria in non-malaria endemic areas should be monitored to guide control strategies.Author summary: Malaria is a neglected potentially fatal tropical mosquito-born disease. Travel-associated malaria is a health hazard, even in non-malaria endemic regions. In spite of previous efforts to estimate malaria prevalence, morbidity and mortality in Saudi Arabia in the last decade, there have been no studies that determine the prevalence of malaria in Al-Khobar, Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Malaria prevalence was very low in febrile patients (81/12,931) attending King Fahad Hospital of the University over a decade. Cases were all travel-related, except for one case of transfusion malaria. Indian nationals were the most infected (29.6%), followed by Sudanese nationals (24.7%). P. falciparum (47%) and P. vivax (42%) were the predominant species. The majority of P. falciparum (64.5%) cases were from Africa and the majority of P. vivax (72.7%) cases were from Asia. No patient factors predicted malaria in febrile travelers. In non-malaria endemic areas, in the presence of a potential vector, patients with acute fever coming from endemic areas or having received blood transfusion, should be screened for travel-associated malaria to guide control strategies.
Highlights
A hospital-based retrospective study was done, including all febrile patients who presented at King Fahad Hospital of the University (KFHU) from January 2009 to December 2019 for travelers returning from malaria endemic areas or for whom malaria was clinically suspected; their Giemsa stained thin and thick blood films were screened for detection and speciation of malaria parasites microscopically by malaria experts, parasite density was determined according to world health organization (WHO) recommendations[12]
Three Plasmodium species were detected in malaria infected patients including P. falciparum species, P. vivax species and P. ovale species, with P. falciparum species the most frequent species (38 cases), followed by P. vivax species (34 cases) (Table 3)
Among the 9 Saudis infected by malaria, one case was transfusion malaria, and 8 cases were travel-related, 7 had travelled to the malaria endemic area in southwestern Saudi Arabia, and only one was returning from international travel
Summary
A hospital-based retrospective study was done, including all febrile patients who presented at KFHU from January 2009 to December 2019 for travelers returning from malaria endemic areas or for whom malaria was clinically suspected; their Giemsa stained thin and thick blood films were screened for detection and speciation of malaria parasites microscopically by malaria experts, parasite density was determined according to WHO recommendations[12]. Using a standard form, the collection of patient’s characteristics was done from a retrospective review of the medical records, the lab reports and discharge notes of all patients, after obtaining ethical approval and KFHU permission. Related patient data, including date of diagnosis, test results, patient residence, sex, age, nationality, visited clinic, history of travel, history of blood transfusion, associated symptoms, comorbidity and treatment regimen, were recorded for each patient. P-values < 0.05 provide evidence for a statistically significant difference
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