14 research outputs found
Prevalence of asymptomatic malaria infections in selected military camps in Tanzania
Get PDFBackground: Despite a decrease in malaria burden reported between 2000 and 2015, an increasing trend of malaria transmission has been recently reported in some endemic countries including Tanzania. Periodic monitoring to identify pocket areas for asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum infection is vital for malaria elimination efforts. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence of asymptomatic malaria infections among military recruits in selected camps in Tanzania.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 at four military camps (Bulombora, Mgambo, Ruvu, and Rwamkoma) of National Service located in regions with varying malaria endemicity in Tanzania. Finger prick blood samples collected from asymptomatic military recruits who had been at the camps for over two months were simultaneously tested using microscopy and malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs) to detect malaria parasite infections.
Results: Malaria parasite prevalence among asymptomatic recruits was 20.3% and 19.4% by microscopy and mRDT respectively. There was moderate agreement (Kappa=0.724) between microscopy and mRDT test results. A significant difference (p<0.001) of malaria parasite prevalence among the four study camps was observed; ranging from 1.9% in Bulombora to 39.4% in Rwamkoma. The geometric mean parasite density was 11,053 asexual parasites/µl and most recruits (56.8%) had 200 to 1999 asexual parasites/µl. P. falciparum was the predominant (99.2%) malaria parasite species.
Conclusion: Our study found high prevalence of asymptomatic malaria infections among military recruits in the selected camps, and this varied from one camp to another. The study has highlighted that public residence institutions such as military camps can be potential hotspots for malaria infection and therefore should not be skipped in routine national malaria surveillance system for monitoring trends of infection
The use of Fionet technology for external quality control of malaria rapid diagnostic tests and monitoring health workers’ performance in rural military health facilities in Tanzania - Fig 8
No full texta) Examples of negative falsely interpreted test lines of RDTs at Maramba clinic in April, 2014. b) Examples of positive falsely interpreted test lines of RDTs at Maramba clinic in May, 2014.</p
Characterization of interpretation errors of RDT by test line results.
No full textCharacterization of interpretation errors of RDT by test line results.</p
A sample set showing quality of RDTs prepared before and after remote monitoring.
No full textA sample set showing quality of RDTs prepared before and after remote monitoring.</p
Baseline characteristics of study participants with discordant RDT results.
No full textBaseline characteristics of study participants with discordant RDT results.</p
Reasons for laboratory personnel making errors in interpretation of RDT.
No full textReasons for laboratory personnel making errors in interpretation of RDT.</p
Comparison of visual and automated Deki Reader interpretation of malaria rapid diagnostic tests in rural Tanzanian military health facilities
No full textNumber of RDT images with errors in interpretation reported by health facilities from 2014 to 2016.
No full textNumber of RDT images with errors in interpretation reported by health facilities from 2014 to 2016.</p
Number of patients followed-up and the day of follow-up and treatment.
No full textNumber of patients followed-up and the day of follow-up and treatment.</p
Number of RDT images with preparation errors reported by health facilities from 2014 to 2016.
No full textNumber of RDT images with preparation errors reported by health facilities from 2014 to 2016.</p
