Abstract
Malaria and dengue are two important vector‑borne infections that are common in tropical countries. In these areas, simultaneous occurrence of malaria and dengue in an individual cannot be excluded, although published reports of co‑infections are scarce till date. The Aims of this study were to identify dengue and malaria co-infection cases as well as to ascertain the severity of dengue and malaria in co‑infection based on some hematological parameters. A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to November 2019 and 385 subjects with an undifferentiated febrile illness patients were recruited at outpatient clinics and blood sample were collected. All samples were tested for dengue NS1 antigen and for dengue IgM/IgG. Malaria diagnosis was based on the identification of Plasmodium parasites on a thin and thick blood films microscopy. Among the 385 patients included in the study, 23.9% were tested positive for malaria, 32.5% were positive for dengue, and 7.01% showed concurrent infection of both malaria and dengue. Malaria and dengue co-infected patients presented lower leukocytes level (5.024±0.559) than malaria monoinfected patients (7.304± 0.388; p=0.002). A significant reduction in platelet counts was observed in co-infected patients (164.0±10.91 vs 229.1±14.32; p=0.005). Conversely, hemoglobin level was statistically lower in malaria monoinfected patients than dengue monoinfected patients (p=0.014). Thus this study demonstrates that the diagnosis of dengue and malaria should be carried out routinely for better management of fever.
Highlights
The number of cases and deaths caused by malaria is high and this disease remains the main cause of death in Burkina Faso [2]
Malaria parasite densities were more important in subjects who are aged 5 years or less (13302±2820 parasites/uL) than subjects aged more than 5 years
In Ouagadougou, an endemic area of dengue fever and malaria, we found a high prevalence of the co-infection (7.01%)
Summary
Malaria is the most important mosquito-borne parasitic disease, which causes a larger number of deaths in the world especially in Africa. Women and children under 5 years are most affected in terms of mortality. In 2018, 219 millions cases were reported and 445,000 deaths registered worldwide [1]. Malaria persists despite multiple strategies to eradicate it. The recent strategies are based on diagnosis, early care of malaria cases and vector control. In Burkina Faso, Malaria is still endemic and remains a veritable public health concern. The number of cases and deaths caused by malaria is high and this disease remains the main cause of death in Burkina Faso [2]
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