Screening for Chronic Infectious Diseases by Serology in Those Presenting with Malaria in London, United Kingdom

The United Kingdom's cases of malaria infection are primarily acquired in sub-Saharan Africa, with the majority of infections presenting in London.1 When patients go to a hospital with malaria, there is a screening opportunity for other geographically associated chronic infections. We identifie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 2022-02, Vol.106 (2), p.661-663
Main Authors: Gowland, Alison, McGuire, Emma, Goodman, Anna L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Chronic Disease - epidemiology
Chronic Disease - prevention & control
Cohort Studies
Communicable Disease Control - methods
Communicable Diseases - epidemiology
Hepatitis B
Humans
Infectious diseases
London - epidemiology
Malaria
Malaria - diagnosis
Malaria - epidemiology
Malaria - prevention & control
Mass Screening - methods
Mass Screening - statistics & numerical data
Middle Aged
Short Report
Travel-Related Illness
Tropical diseases
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Summary:The United Kingdom's cases of malaria infection are primarily acquired in sub-Saharan Africa, with the majority of infections presenting in London.1 When patients go to a hospital with malaria, there is a screening opportunity for other geographically associated chronic infections. We identified patients who were diagnosed with malaria after presenting to our emergency department in London over a 2-year period, to assess whether there may be clinical benefit in screening for chronic viral (hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV) or parasitic (schistosomiasis, strongyloidiasis) infection in this cohort. Over this period, 131 patients were diagnosed with malaria. Crude seropositivity rates for HIV, hepatitis B, and strongyloidiasis were higher than expected compared with local population estimates, 7 and 28 times higher for HIV and hepatitis B, respectively. Those patients with previously unidentified cases were offered appropriate treatment. These findings support the potential clinical and public health benefits of screening for other infectious diseases in the context of a malaria diagnosis.
ISSN:0002-9637
1476-1645
DOI:10.4269/ajtmh.20-1217