1. Microscopy is more reliable than questionnaire-based methods in the diagnosis of malaria in school children
- Author
-
Victor A Ndiforchu, K.J.N. Ndamukong, John S Dinga, Theresa N Akenji, Mary A Ayuk, and Vincent P.K. Titanji
- Subjects
Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Adolescent ,Fever ,Screening test ,Primary health care ,Prevalence ,Azure Stains ,Sensitivity and Specificity ,West africa ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,parasitic diseases ,Humans ,Medicine ,Cameroon ,Child ,Kumba ,Microscopy ,biology ,business.industry ,Headache ,Reproducibility of Results ,Questionnaire ,General Medicine ,medicine.disease ,biology.organism_classification ,Health Surveys ,Malaria ,Diagnosis of malaria ,Child, Preschool ,business - Abstract
The objectives of the study were to determine by the use of a structured questionnaire the prevalence of malaria and its associated symptoms amongst school children and to relate these to the prevalence of malaria determined by microscopic examination. The questionnaire was administered to 840 pupils of classes 3, 5 and 7 (age range 5-16 years) in 17 primary schools of the Kumba Health District of Cameroon. Blood samples were collected from the same individuals for identification of malaria parasites. The prevalence rate by microscopic examination was 41.4% significantly higher (P
- Published
- 2004