Malaria: Overdiagnosed and Inappropriately Treated in Afghanistan

Fever was regularly misdiagnosed as malaria; false-positive clinic microscopy results and clinician disregard of laboratory results contributed to the problem.

Studies document overdiagnosis of malaria and misprescription of malaria treatment in Africa, but what about Asia?

To explore this issue, investigators undertook an observational study to assess the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment at 22 healthcare clinics in Afghanistan, a country in which vivax malaria predominates and transmission is seasonal. The study involved 10 clinics (5 that used clinical diagnosis and 5 that had newly established laboratories with smear microscopy) in the north, where malaria transmission is low, and 12 (all of which had used smear microscopy for ≥5 years) in the east, where transmission is high. All patients with suspected or diagnosed malaria between July 1 and September 19, 2009, were included. For each patie…

Reviewing Author

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine

Mary E. Wilson, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardOneHealthTrust (formerly Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy); Global Health Institute, University of Wisconsin

RoyaltiesUpToDate

Editorial BoardsJournal of Travel Medicine