Estimation of Malaria-Attributable Fever in Malaria Test–Positive Febrile Outpatients in Three Provinces of Mozambique, 2018

Mateusz M. Plucinski Malaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia;
United States President’s Malaria Initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia;

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Baltazar Candrinho National Malaria Control Program, Ministry of Health, Maputo, Mozambique;

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Mercia Dimene National Malaria Control Program, Ministry of Health, Maputo, Mozambique;

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Tom Smith Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland;
University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland;

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Julie Thwing Malaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia;

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James Colborn Clinton Health Access Initiative, Maputo, Mozambique;

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Eric Rogier Malaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia;

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Rose Zulliger Malaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia;
United States President’s Malaria Initiative, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Maputo, Mozambique

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Like most malaria-endemic countries, Mozambique relies on tabulation of confirmed malaria test–positive febrile patients to track incidence of malaria. However, this approach is potentially biased by incidental malaria parasitemia in patients with fever of another etiology. We compared pan-Plasmodium aldolase and lactate dehydrogenase and Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2) antigen concentrations measured using a laboratory bead-based assay of samples collected from 1,712 febrile and afebrile patients of all ages in Maputo, Zambézia, and Cabo Delgado provinces. We used a Bayesian latent class model to estimate the proportion of malaria-attributable fevers in malaria test–positive febrile patients. Depending on the antigen, estimated rates of malaria-attributable fever in malaria test–positive febrile patients were 100% in Maputo, 33–58% in Zambézia, and 63–74% in Cabo Delgado. Our findings indicate that most malaria test–positive febrile patients in the three provinces of Mozambique had a fever that was likely caused by the concurrent malaria infection. Counting malaria test–positive febrile patients for estimation of malaria incidence appears to be appropriate in this setting.

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Author Notes

Address correspondence to Mateusz M. Plucinski, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Malaria Branch, 1600 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA 30329. E-mail: mplucinski@cdc.gov

Authors’ addresses: Mateusz M. Plucinski, Julie Thwing, Eric Rogier, and Rose Zulliger, Malaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, E-mails: mplucinski@cdc.gov, jthwing@cdc.gov, erogier@cdc.gov, and ymr0@cdc.gov. Baltazar Candrinho and Mercia Dimene, National Malaria Control Program, Ministry of Health, Maputo, Mozambique, E-mails: candrinhobaltazar@gmail.com and merciad40@yahoo.com.br. Tom Smith, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland, E-mail: thomas-a.smith@unibas.ch. James Colborn, Clinton Health Access Initiative, Maputo, Mozambique, E-mail: jcolborn.ic@clintonhealthaccess.org.

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