title: The clinical and epidemiological features of childhood malaria in a moderately endemic area of Sri Lanka.
abstract: This study describes some clinical and epidemiological features of childhood malaria in a moderately endemic area of southern Sri Lanka. Six hundred and sixty-two children, who experienced 1,138 attacks of malaria, and 172 children, who experienced 202 attacks of acute non-malarial fever, were followed over a period of two years. Of the 1,138 malaria infections followed, 776 were due to P. vivax, 359 were due to P. falciparum, and 3 were mixed infections. The majority of children presented within the first three days of the onset of symptoms. Headache (96%), feeling cold (81%) and arthralgia (77%) were the commonest presenting symptoms. Two hundred and sixty-four children experienced more than one attack of malaria. The clinical and epidemiological features of childhood malaria that have important implications for the planning and targeting of preventive measures are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. deepfern@slt.ik
authors.forename: S Deepika
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Fernando
authors.forename: A Rajitha
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Wickremasinghe
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000962:Antimalarials / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000469:parasitology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D023341:Chills / Q000469:parasitology; D002738:Chloroquine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000453:epidemiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006261:Headache / Q000469:parasitology; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016780:Malaria, Vivax / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011319:Primaquine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013188:Sri Lanka / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000962:Antimalarials; D002738:Chloroquine; D011319:Primaquine