Abstract
We screened 52 children adopted from Ethiopia for malaria because they had previously lived in a disease-endemic region or had past or current hepatomegaly or splenomegaly. Seven (13.5%) children had asymptomatic malaria parasitemia by microscopy (n = 2) or PCR (n = 5). Our findings suggest that adoptees at risk for asymptomatic malaria should be screened, preferably by PCR.
Highlights
We screened 52 children adopted from Ethiopia for malaria because they had previously lived in a disease-endemic region or had past or current hepatomegaly or splenomegaly
The Study We reviewed medical records of all children adopted from Ethiopia and seen at the University of Minnesota International Adoption Clinic (Minneapolis, MN, USA) during February 2006–June 2011 for results of standard infectious disease screening tests recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics: tuberculosis; intestinal parasites; hepatitis B or C virus; HIV; and syphilis (5)
PCR became the preferred firstline diagnostic test, and 5 infections were diagnosed on the basis of PCR results: 3 P. vivax, 1 P. falciparum, and 1 mixed P. vivax and P. falciparum
Summary
We screened 52 children adopted from Ethiopia for malaria because they had previously lived in a disease-endemic region or had past or current hepatomegaly or splenomegaly. For malaria by blood smear or PCR if they met screening criteria (i.e., history of living in a malaria-endemic region or a history of or current evidence of splenomegaly or hepatomegaly). All 255 children were asymptomatic for malaria, but 52 met malaria screening criteria and were tested by peripheral blood smear (n = 24), PCR (n = 24), or both (n = 4).
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