Magnitude of Malaria-Typhoid Fever Coinfection in Febrile Patients at Arba Minch General Hospital in Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Background. Coinfection with malaria and typhoid fever is a major public health issue in developing countries. In endemic areas, including Ethiopia, people are at risk of acquiring both malaria and typhoid fever at the same time. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the magnitude of malaria-typhoid fever coinfection in febrile patients attending hospital at Southern Ethiopia. Methods. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 416 febrile patients attending Arba Minch General Hospital from 1st October to 30th December 2021. The data was collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. Capillary and Venus blood samples were collected for assessing malaria and typhoid fever, respectively. Blood smear, culture, and biochemical tests were performed based on standard parasitological and microbiological methods. The P -value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. The magnitude of malaria, typhoid fever, and their coinfections was 26.2% (109/416), 6.5% (27/416), and 3.1% (13/416), respectively. Among the confirmed malaria cases, about 66% of infections were Plasmodium falciparum. The malaria-typhoid fever coinfection showed a statistically significant association with a clinical presentation of a continuous pattern of fever (AOR = 5.84; 95% CI: 1.44–23.71, P = 0.014 ) and chills (AOR = 3.94; 95% CI: 1.04–14.89, P = 0.044 ). About 29.6% of Salmonella isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR). Conclusion. The total rate of coinfection with malaria and typhoid fever was comparable to that of previous studies. With the consideration of higher prevalence of drug resistance of Salmonella spp. and higher prevalence of malaria‐typhoid fever coinfection, proper diagnostic procedure should be implemented for proper use of drugs.

Typhoid Fever, Malaria and their Co-infection: A Review

“…These consequences may include fever, anemia in the mother or fetus, abortion, stillbirth, or even the mother's or child's death before or soon after delivery (Mohammed et al, 2020). Additionally, the statistical correlation between continuous fever and chill patterns and malariatyphoid fever coinfection may aid in the differential diagnosis of malaria-typhoid coinfection (Batire et al, 2022). In a different study, the rates of nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, and diarrhea were significantly higher in subjects who also had coinfection.…”

“…Malaria is caused by five different species of protozoan parasites from the genus Plasmodium (Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae, P. ovale, and P. knowlesi) (Talapko et al, 2019). P. falciparum is the leading cause of nearly all malaria-related deaths in humans, with the majority occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa (Batire et al, 2022). The protozoa in the saliva of an infected female Anopheles mosquito gain entry into the circulatory system through a bite and mature and multiply in the liver; this is the most common form of disease transmission (Martens, 2000).…”

Case report: a rare presentation of typhoid fever due to eating over-ripened pineapple

“…Typhoid/enteric fever occurs as a result of contaminated water and food caused by Salmonella typhi 1 . Typhoid/enteric fever is a major cause of morbidity and mortality across the globe 2 . High-grade fever, chills, headache, tachycardia, joint weakness, back pain, and abdominal pain are the main clinical manifestations of typhoid/enteric fever 3 , 4 .…”

A Case Report of Enteric Fever Caused by Consumption of Lettuce

“…Water and food contaminated with Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi ( S. Typhi) are the main causes of typhoid/enteric fever [ 1 ]. Globally, typhoid/enteric fever is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality with the prevalence of culture-confirmed typhoid fever being 6.5% in the study conducted by Batire S et al [ 2 ]. The primary clinical symptoms of typhoid/enteric fever are high-grade fever, chills, stomach discomfort, tachycardia, generalized body pain, back pain, and headaches [ 3 ].…”