Abstract
Background: Fever is usually associated with malaria parasitemia, and it is recommended that febrile children below the age of 5 years be treated with antimalarials. This study was undertaken to obtain information concerning the relationship between fever and the prevalence of malaria parasitemia among Nigerian children. Materials and Methods: Blood specimens from deep finger pricks of 730 children aged 0-2 years were examined for parasitemia using the Field's stain method, and the axillary temperature of each subject was measured. Results: Malaria parasites were observed in 26.1% of the afebrile children and 40.6%, a statistically significant difference, in febrile children. Furthermore, 59.2% of the febrile subjects had no detectable malaria parasites in their blood. Conclusions: Fever is not always indicative of parasitemia, and subjects with asymptomatic infection must be regarded as a significant reservoir of transmissible malaria parasites within the study environment.
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