The Effect of Mass Testing, Treatment and Tracking on the Prevalence of Febrile Illness in Children under 15 in Ghana
Background: Malaria remains a serious threat to children under 15 years of age in sub-Sahara Africa. Mass testing, treatment and tracking (MTTT) of malaria has been reported to reduce parasite load significantly. However, the impact of MTTT on the prevalence of febrile illnesses in children under 15...
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MDPI AG
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/10/1118 |
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| author | Collins Stephen Ahorlu Ignatius Cheng Ndong Daniel Okyere Benedicta A. Mensah Chuo Ennestine Chu Juliana Y. Enos Benjamin Abuaku |
| author_facet | Collins Stephen Ahorlu Ignatius Cheng Ndong Daniel Okyere Benedicta A. Mensah Chuo Ennestine Chu Juliana Y. Enos Benjamin Abuaku |
| author_sort | Collins Stephen Ahorlu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Malaria remains a serious threat to children under 15 years of age in sub-Sahara Africa. Mass testing, treatment and tracking (MTTT) of malaria has been reported to reduce parasite load significantly. However, the impact of MTTT on the prevalence of febrile illnesses in children under 15 is not yet clear. This study explores the impact of MTTT complemented by prompt home-based management of malaria on febrile illnesses and their treatment in children under 15 years old. Methods: A cohort of 460 children under 15 years were recruited from the Pakro subdistrict in Ghana during a community-wide implementation of a quarterly MTTT intervention. The MTTT implementation involved testing all household members for malaria using RDTs, and positive cases were treated with Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). Febrile illnesses among this cohort in the two weeks prior to the prevalence survey at baseline and endline were recorded to constitute date for analysis. Results: The prevalence of febrile illnesses, such chills, convulsion, fever, diarrhoea, headache, vomit, cough/rashes or stomachache, etc., were recorded). Asymptomatic parasitaemia prevalence at baseline was 53.3%, which dropped to 44.1% at evaluation. An overall decrease in the parasitaemia prevalence of 33.0% (OR = 0.67, CI = 0.50, 0.89) was observed at evaluation compared to baseline after adjusting for age, ITN use and temperature. A 67% decrease in severe anaemia cases (Hb < 7) was observed at evaluation. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that implementing MTTT complemented by home-based timely management of malaria does not only reduce febrile illnesses and for that matter malaria prevalence, but could also reduce severe anaemia in children under 15 years old. |
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| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:38:01Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
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| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-eeaa80eba7e643f393b16fe7c6b379a82023-11-24T01:48:06ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172022-09-011110111810.3390/pathogens11101118The Effect of Mass Testing, Treatment and Tracking on the Prevalence of Febrile Illness in Children under 15 in GhanaCollins Stephen Ahorlu0Ignatius Cheng Ndong1Daniel Okyere2Benedicta A. Mensah3Chuo Ennestine Chu4Juliana Y. Enos5Benjamin Abuaku6Department of Epidemiology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 581, GhanaDepartment of Epidemiology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 581, GhanaDepartment of Epidemiology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 581, GhanaDepartment of Epidemiology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 581, GhanaDepartment of Epidemiology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 581, GhanaDepartment of Epidemiology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 581, GhanaDepartment of Epidemiology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 581, GhanaBackground: Malaria remains a serious threat to children under 15 years of age in sub-Sahara Africa. Mass testing, treatment and tracking (MTTT) of malaria has been reported to reduce parasite load significantly. However, the impact of MTTT on the prevalence of febrile illnesses in children under 15 is not yet clear. This study explores the impact of MTTT complemented by prompt home-based management of malaria on febrile illnesses and their treatment in children under 15 years old. Methods: A cohort of 460 children under 15 years were recruited from the Pakro subdistrict in Ghana during a community-wide implementation of a quarterly MTTT intervention. The MTTT implementation involved testing all household members for malaria using RDTs, and positive cases were treated with Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). Febrile illnesses among this cohort in the two weeks prior to the prevalence survey at baseline and endline were recorded to constitute date for analysis. Results: The prevalence of febrile illnesses, such chills, convulsion, fever, diarrhoea, headache, vomit, cough/rashes or stomachache, etc., were recorded). Asymptomatic parasitaemia prevalence at baseline was 53.3%, which dropped to 44.1% at evaluation. An overall decrease in the parasitaemia prevalence of 33.0% (OR = 0.67, CI = 0.50, 0.89) was observed at evaluation compared to baseline after adjusting for age, ITN use and temperature. A 67% decrease in severe anaemia cases (Hb < 7) was observed at evaluation. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that implementing MTTT complemented by home-based timely management of malaria does not only reduce febrile illnesses and for that matter malaria prevalence, but could also reduce severe anaemia in children under 15 years old.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/10/1118malariafebrile illnessPakroGhanamalaria prevalenceMTTT |
| spellingShingle | Collins Stephen Ahorlu Ignatius Cheng Ndong Daniel Okyere Benedicta A. Mensah Chuo Ennestine Chu Juliana Y. Enos Benjamin Abuaku The Effect of Mass Testing, Treatment and Tracking on the Prevalence of Febrile Illness in Children under 15 in Ghana Pathogens malaria febrile illness Pakro Ghana malaria prevalence MTTT |
| title | The Effect of Mass Testing, Treatment and Tracking on the Prevalence of Febrile Illness in Children under 15 in Ghana |
| title_full | The Effect of Mass Testing, Treatment and Tracking on the Prevalence of Febrile Illness in Children under 15 in Ghana |
| title_fullStr | The Effect of Mass Testing, Treatment and Tracking on the Prevalence of Febrile Illness in Children under 15 in Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Effect of Mass Testing, Treatment and Tracking on the Prevalence of Febrile Illness in Children under 15 in Ghana |
| title_short | The Effect of Mass Testing, Treatment and Tracking on the Prevalence of Febrile Illness in Children under 15 in Ghana |
| title_sort | effect of mass testing treatment and tracking on the prevalence of febrile illness in children under 15 in ghana |
| topic | malaria febrile illness Pakro Ghana malaria prevalence MTTT |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/10/1118 |
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