title: Ability of mothers to diagnose fever and anaemia in their young children, in a malaria-endemic region of West Africa.
abstract: The rapid and correct diagnosis of fever and anaemia at the household level is a prerequisite for the successful management and control of life-threatening disease among young children, particularly in malaria-endemic areas of Africa. The ability of mothers to diagnose fever and anaemia in their young children has recently been explored, as part of a large, birth-cohort study in rural, north-western Burkina Faso. During a cross-sectional survey in six villages, 345 children aged, <3 years and their mothers were investigated. Each mother was asked if she considered her child to be febrile and/or anaemic before that child's temperature and haematocrit were measured, with an electronic thermometer and portable centrifuge, respectively. The recorded prevalences of fever (> or =37.5 degrees C) and anaemia (haematocrit, <25%) in the children were 12.2% and 21.4%, respectively. The mothers' diagnoses had a sensitivity of 76.2% [95% confidence interval (CI)=60.6%-88.0%] for fever and 4.1% (CI=0.8%-11.4%) for anaemia, with corresponding specificities of 87.1% (CI=82.8%-90.7%) and 95.9% (CI=92.9%-98.0%). Mothers in rural Africa appear to be fairly accurate in detecting fever in their children but less accurate in detecting anaemia. While malaria control needs to employ a mix of preventive and curative measures, anaemia control will benefit from community-based malaria-control measures as well as broader approaches addressing the nutritional status of young children.
authors.affiliation: African Population and Health Research Centre, PO Box 10787-00100, GPO, Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yé
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Traoré
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Meissner
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coulibaly
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Becher
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000740:Anemia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002050:Burkina Faso / Q000453:epidemiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008288:Malaria / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population