Severe malaria among children in a low seasonal transmission area, Dakar, Senegal: influence of age on clinical presentation

Abstract The influence of age on the clinical presentation of severe malaria and especially on its 2 most commonly encountered manifestations, cerebral malaria and severe anaemia, has been retrospectively examined in 161 children ( Hopital Principal de Dakar from 1 January 1990 to 29 February 1996. They lived in Dakar and its suburbs, a region of Senegal where the malaria transmission rate is very low. Cases were defined by at least one of the World Health Organization criteria of severe malaria and the presence of Plasmodium falciparum in blood smears. Severe anaemia was present in 73·1%, 52·1% and 26·2% cases of severe malaria among children aged 0–3 years, 4–7 years and 8–15 years, respectively ( P P P