Retrospective study of imported malaria in Tunisia

Malaria is a parasitic disease caused by a protozoan of the genus Plasmodium (P); transmitted to humans by the bite of the female Anopheles. Our study is a retrospective study that focused on 30 cases of malaria in patients returning from endemic countries and who were referred to the Parasitology laboratory of HMPIT for testing for Plasmodium. The study period was from January 2012 to December 2020. All patients included in the study were male. The mean age of our patients was 37 ±9.4 years. The most frequently visited country was Congo (26%). Our patients were symptomatic in 53% of cases. The dominant clinical sign was fever (100%) followed by headache (44%) and asthenia (25%). The most common species identified was Plasmodium falciparum in 29 patients (97%). The trophozoite stage was found in 100% of patients with gametocytes in 30% of our patients. Parasitemia was low (<1%) in 92% of cases. The good knowledge of the characteristics of these cases allows minimizing the potential risk of reintroduction of this parasitosis in our country through early diagnosis and systematic screening.

Autorentext

Dr MTIBAAA FOURATI LatifaNascido em 25 de Janeiro de 1984 em Sfax, TunísiaBiólogo do Laboratório de Parasitologia-Micologia do Hospital Militar Principal de TunesAssistente do Hospital Universitário da Faculdade de Medicina de Tunis