Abstract
According to the World Health Organization 94% of global malaria cases and 94% of global malaria deaths have been reported from Africa. Unfortunately, it is difficult to determine the exact prevalence of disease in some African countries due to a large number of asymptomatic cases. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of malaria infections in seemingly healthy children living in the Central African Republic (CAR). CareStartTM Malaria HRP2 rapid diagnostic test (RDT) targeting Plasmodium falciparum was used to test a group of 500 asymptomatic children aged 1-15 years old (330 settled Bantu and 170 semi-nomadic BaAka Pygmies) inhabiting the villages in the Dzanga Sangha region (south-west CAR) in March 2020. In total, 32.4% of asymptomatic Bantu and 40.6% of asymptomatic Pygmy children had a positive result of malaria RDT. Our findings allowed us to demonstrate the high prevalence of asymptomatic malaria infections in south-west CAR. RDTs seem to be a useful tool for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum in areas with limited possibilities of using other diagnostic methods, such as light microscopy and molecular biology.
Highlights
The results of this study indicate that malaria is a major public health issue in Central African Republic (CAR) and malaria diagnosis remains a significant challenge for local health care professionals
The overall occurrence of asymptomatic malaria in children living in the south-western parts of the Central African Republic is very high
rapid diagnostic test (RDT) seem to be an effective method for detecting Plasmodium falciparum infections, especially in areas where the access to medical care is limited and where other diagnostic methods, such as light microscopy or molecular biology are unavailable
Summary
In humans, it is mainly caused by five protozoan species: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale (P. ovale curtisi, P. ovale wallikeri), Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium knowlesi (a species most often found in South-East Asia whose natural hosts are monkeys) [1,2]. According to the latest World Health Organization’s (WHO) report on malaria prevalence, diagnostics, treatment, and prevention (the World Malaria Report 2020), a total of 229 million people globally fall ill with the disease each year and 94% of malaria cases are reported from Africa.
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