Publications

Background: Pediatric febrile illnesses pose diagnostic challenges in low income countries.Western Uganda is endemic for both Malaria and Typhoid but the true prevalence of eachindividual disease, their co-infections and associated factors are poorly quantified.Objective: To determine the prevalence of malaria, Typhoid, their co-infection and associatedfactors amongst febrile children attending the paediatrics and child health department of KampalaInternational University Teaching Hospital (KIU-TH) in Western Uganda.Methods: Cross-sectional study used a survey questionnaire covering demographics, clinical andbehavioral variables. We obtained blood for peripheral films for malaria and cultures for Typhoidrespectively; from 108 consecutively consented participants. Ethical approval was obtained fromKIU-TH research and ethics committee (No. UG-REC-023/201834). Multivariate regressionanalysis was performed using Stata 14.0 (StataCorp. 2015) at 95% confidence interval,regarding p<0.05 as statistically significant.Results: Majority of participants were males 62 % (n=67), cared for by their mothers 85.2%(n=92). The prevalence of malaria was 25% (n=27). The prevalence of Typhoid was 3.7% (n=4)of which 2.8% (n=3) had Malaria-Typhoid co-infection. Using treated water from protectedpublic taps was associated with low Malaria-Typhoid co-infection [p=0.04; aOR=0.05, 95%CI[0.003-0.87], whereas drinking unboiled water from open wells increased the risk for the coinfection[p=0.037, cOR=17, 95%CI (1.19-243.25)].Conclusions: The prevalence of blood culture confirmed Malaria-Typhoid co-infection waslower than previously reported in serological studies. Educational campaigns regarding use ofsafe water, hygienic hand washing and proper waste disposal should target mothers who mainlytake care of these children