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Since the 2007 French guidelines on imported Falciparum malaria, the epidemiology, treatment, and prevention of malaria have changed considerably requiring guidelines for all Plasmodium species to be updated. Over the past decade, the incidence of imported malaria has decreased in all age groups, reflecting the decrease in the incidence of malaria in endemic areas. The rates of severe pediatric cases have increased as in adults, but fatalities are rare. The parasitological diagnosis requires a thick blood smear (or a rapid immunochromatographic test) and a thin blood film. Alternatively, a rapid antigen detection test can be paired with a thin blood film. Thrombocytopenia in children presenting with fever is highly predictive of malaria following travel to a malaria-endemic area and, when detected, malaria should be strongly considered. The first-line treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria is now an artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), either artemether-lumefantrine or artenimol-piperaquine, as recommended by the World Health Organization in endemic areas. Uncomplicated presentations of non-falciparum malaria should be treated either with chloroquine or ACT. The first-line treatment of severe malaria is now intravenous artesunate which is more effective than quinine in endemic areas. Quinine is restricted to cases where artesunate is contraindicated or unavailable. Prevention of malaria in pediatric travelers consists of nocturnal personal protection against mosquitoes (especially insecticide-treated nets) combined with chemoprophylaxis according to the risk level.

Snake bites are a major public health problem in the tropics but they have a low incidence in Europe and are responsible for few deaths each year. The incidence is higher in children than in adults but no difference in severity seems to be observed between children and adults. In France, snake envenomations are due mainly to Vipera aspis and Vipera berus. The clinical presentation is usually limited to a local syndrome with pain and local inflammatory edema, but systemic signs occur in 17% of cases. Clinical grading published by the Institut Pasteur in Paris helps to assess the severity of envenomation and to decide the use of antivenom. Every bitten patient must be transferred in a hospital for medical assessment. Specific treatment is based on antivenom immunotherapy. However, other medical and surgical treatments have limited value.

Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in children comprises a wide spectrum of symptoms ranging from primary snoring to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Twelve percent of children present primary snoring and 1-2% OSA. Polysomnography is the gold standard for diagnosis of SDB allowing the analysis of sleep stages, respiratory movements, airflow, and gas exchange. However, this test remains highly technical, expensive, and difficult to conduct; other simpler diagnostic methods are under evaluation. Recent studies highlight the frequency and importance of cognitive and behavioral disorders in children with SDB; both the age and the severity of the SDB seem to modulate in the expression of neurocognitive consequences. Local and systemic inflammation plays a key role in the physiopathology of SDB and its complications: OSA is a cardiovascular risk factor in childhood that could favor atheromatous complications later in life. Adenoidotonsillectomy is the treatment of choice, but anti-inflammatory therapies such as leukotriene receptor antagonists or nasal corticoids may be beneficial in mild SDB or in residual OSA after adenotonsillectomy. In case of failure, noninvasive ventilation by means of nasal continuous positive pressure will be necessary, aided by specialists. SDB and OSA are a public health problem, underlining the pivotal role of the pediatrician in preventing, diagnosing, and treating these frequent disorders.