Reported incidence of fever for under-5 children in Zambia: a longitudinal study. Issue 1 (December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hamooya, Benson; Chongwe, Gershom; Sitali, Lungowe; Halwindi, Hikabasa
• Is Part Of: Archives of public health. Volume 73:Issue 1(2015)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 7
• Publication Date: 2015-12
• Subjects: Fever -- Malaria -- Incidence -- Under five children -- Longitudinal study; Public health -- Periodicals; Public health -- Belgium -- Periodicals; 362.1
• DOI: 10.1186/s13690-015-0097-5
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2049-3258

Abstract

Abstract Background Childhood fever is the most common clinical sign ofPlasmodium falciparum infection. It is used as a measure of burden of the disease and the effectiveness of control programs for malaria. This study aimed to determine the incidence of fever in under-5 children of Magoye and Chivuna rural areas of Mazabuka district, Zambia. Methods Incidence of fever was evaluated longitudinally over a period of 16 months (July 2006 and November 2007) among children aged 12–59 months in Magoye and Chivuna rural communities. The data was collected for a study on community directed treatment of soil-transmitted helminth infections in under-five children. Data from caretakers of 1221 children were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Cox proportion hazard regression was used to determine predictors of multiple episodes of fever and Kaplan-Meier survival curves was used to compare survival between two groups. Results A total of 1221 under-5 children [median age 32 months; IQR 12–58] participated in the study and 696 (57 %) were from Magoye and 525 (43 %) from Chivuna. The incidence rate of fever was 162.4 per month per 1000 children for the 16 months period. The proportion of fever was not statistically related to children' age [p = 0.779] and sex [p = 0.546]. Predictors of multiple episodes of fever were: age (37–48 vs. 12–24 months) [HR 0.81; 95 % CI 0.67, 0.98;p = 0.030]; location (Chivuna vs. Magoye) [HR 1.35; 95 % CI 1.17, 1.56;p < 0.001]; and season (dry vs. rainy) [HR 0.17; 95 % CI 0.12, 0.23;p < 0.001]. Conclusion The study has shown that the incidence of fever was high in the study areas. Febrile illnesses like malaria still have a significant effect on the health of under-5 children in the study population. There still exists the need for interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of fever in under five children, more especially in rural areas.