Changing Epidemiological and Clinical Aspects of Imported Malaria in Belgium

Ende, Jef Van den; Moráles, Ingrid; Abbeele, K Van den; Clerinx, Jan; Colebunders, Robert; Kager, P. A.; Lynen, Lutgarde; Gompel, A. Van; Planken, Marc van der; Vervoort, T.

doi:10.2310/7060.2001.5147

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our study was based in Brussels, which has a large immigrant population. 7,8 Although data on imported malaria in Belgium have been previously reported, [9][10][11][12][13][14] they were all based on pooled adult and pediatric populations. Purely pediatric data do not exist to date in Belgium.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Imported Malaria in Children: A Study Over an 11-Year Period in Brussels

Selimaj Kontoni,

Goetghebuer,

Hainaut

et al. 2023

Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Malaria is a major global public health concern in endemic countries and imported childhood malaria is increasing in malaria non-endemic countries. Methods: This was a retrospective case review of all laboratory-confirmed malaria cases in children 0–16 years admitted between 2009 and 2019 in 2 large university teaching Hospitals in Brussels. Results: A total of 160 children with a median age of 6.8 years (range 5–191 months) were included. We identified 109 (68%) children living in Belgium who had acquired malaria during their visit to malaria-endemic countries to visiting friends and relatives (VFRs), 49 children (31%) visitors or newly installed migrants, and 2 Belgian tourists. Peak seasonal incidence occurred between August and September. Plasmodium falciparum was responsible for 89% of all malaria cases. Almost 80% of children living in Belgium visited a travel clinic for advice, but only one-third reported having taken the prophylaxis schedule according to the recommendations. Based on WHO criteria, 31 children (19.3%) developed severe malaria; most of the patients with severe malaria were VFR travelers and were significantly younger, had higher leukocytosis, had more thrombocytopenia, higher CRP, and lower natremia compared with patients with an uncomplicated course. All children recovered fully. Conclusions: Malaria is a significant cause of morbidity among returning travelers and newly arrived immigrants to Belgium. Most of the children had an uncomplicated disease course. Physicians should educate families about traveling to malaria-endemic areas to correct malaria preventive measures and prophylaxis.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%