Table 2.
Distribution of microscopic and submicroscopic parasitaemia and fever
| Characteristic | Microscopic infections | Submicroscopic infectionsa | No parasitaemia | Feverb | No fever |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1570 | 1517 | 13563 | 1500 | 15150 |
| District, N (row %) | |||||
| Blantyre | 193 (3.6) | 309 (5.8) | 4831 (90.6) | 361 (6.8) | 4972 (93.2) |
| Chikhwawa | 966 (17.6) | 789 (13.5) | 4075 (69.9) | 652 (11.2) | 5178 (88.8) |
| Thyolo | 411 (7.5) | 419 (7.6) | 4657 (84.8) | 487 (8.9) | 5000 (9.1) |
| Age, Median (IQR) | 10 (15–25) | 14 (8–26) | 13 (6–29) | 12 (4–30) | 13 (6–28) |
| Age group, N (row %) | |||||
| 6 months–5 years | 357 (9.2) | 216 (6.5) | 3320 (85.3) | 492 (12.6) | 3401 (87.4) |
| 6–15 years | 836 (15.4) | 630 (11.6) | 3966 (73.0) | 362 (6.7) | 5070 (93.3) |
| 16 year and older | 377 (5.1) | 671 (9.2) | 6277 (85.7) | 646 (8.8) | 6679 (91.2) |
| SES quartile, N (row %) | |||||
| Lowest | 524 (13.5) | 443 (11.4) | 2914 (75.1) | 420(10.8) | 3461 (89.2) |
| Low | 459 (11.4) | 397 (9.9) | 3159 (78.7) | 381 (9.5) | 3634 (90.5) |
| Medium | 399 (9.4) | 389 (9.1) | 3469 (81.5) | 366 (8.6) | 3891 (91.4) |
| High | 161 (3.8) | 270 (6.3) | 3867 (89.9) | 308 (7.2) | 3990 (92.8) |
| Season, N (row %) | |||||
| Rainy | 1001 (2.5) | 844 (10.6) | 6148 (76.9) | 863 (10.8) | 7130 (89.2) |
| Dry | 569 (6.6) | 673 (7.8) | 7415 (85.7) | 637 (7.4) | 8020 (92.6) |
IQR: interquartile range
aSubmicroscopic infection was defined as a positive result by real-time PCR targeting P. falciparum lactate dehydrogenase gene and a negative malaria microscopy result
bFever defined as at least one of these three measures: reported fever in the past 2 weeks, reported fever in the past 48 h and temperature ≥ 37.5 °C measured at the time of the interview and specimen collection