Identification and management of co-infections in people with malaria

What you need to knowCo-infections with malaria affect up to half of children in endemic countries and around one in seven travellers with malariaA positive diagnostic test does not mean malaria is the only, or even a contributing, cause of current illnessIn settings where resources are constrained, limited diagnostic capacity can influence the diagnosis of co-infections, so vigilance is required for clinical features atypical for malariaA 16 year old Ugandan girl is brought to the emergency department with a three day history of fever, headache, cough, and myalgia. She has had several episodes of malaria in the past. On admission, she is febrile, tachycardic, tachypnoeic, and has oxygen saturations of 90% in air. A malaria rapid antigen test is positive for Plasmodium falciparum and a chest radiograph shows left sided pneumonia. She is admitted and treated with antimalarials, antibiotics, and oxygen. She makes a full recovery over five days. At…
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