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Mwesigwa M, Webster JL, Nsobya SL, Rowan A, Basnet MS, Phares CR, Weinberg M, Klosovsky A, Naoum M, Rosenthal PJ, Stauffer W. Prevalence of Malaria Parasite Infections among U.S.-Bound Congolese Refugees with and without Splenomegaly. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2021; 104:996-999. [PMID: 33534754 PMCID: PMC7941850 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
All U.S.-bound refugees from sub-Saharan Africa receive presumptive antimalarial treatment before departing for the United States. Among U.S.-bound Congolese refugees, breakthrough malaria cases and persistent splenomegaly have been reported. In response, an enhanced malaria diagnostic program was instituted. Here, we report the prevalence of plasmodial infection among 803 U.S.-bound Congolese refugees who received enhanced diagnostics. Infections by either rapid diagnostic test (RDT) or PCR were detected in 187 (23%) refugees, with 78 (10%) by RDT only, 35 (4%) by PCR only, and 74 (9%) by both. Infections identified by PCR included 103 monoinfections (87 Plasmodium falciparum, eight Plasmodium ovale, seven Plasmodium vivax, and one Plasmodium malariae) and six mixed infections. Splenomegaly was associated with malaria detectable by RDT (odds ratio: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.0-3.0), but not by PCR. Splenomegaly was not strongly associated with parasitemia, indicating that active malaria parasitemia is not necessary for splenomegaly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moses Mwesigwa
- 1International Organization for Migration, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Jessica L Webster
- 2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.,3Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Sam Lubwama Nsobya
- 4Department of Pathology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Alexander Rowan
- 5Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | | | | | | | | | - Marwan Naoum
- 1International Organization for Migration, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Philip J Rosenthal
- 6Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California
| | - William Stauffer
- 2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.,7Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Zambrano LD, Jentes E, Phares C, Weinberg M, Kachur SP, Basnet MS, Klosovsky A, Mwesigwa M, Naoum M, Nsobya SL, Samson O, Goers M, McDonald R, Morawski B, Njuguna H, Peak C, Laws R, Bakhsh Y, Iverson SA, Bezold C, Allkhenfr H, Horth R, Yang J, Miller S, Kacka M, Davids A, Mortimer M, Stauffer W, Marano N. Clinical Sequelae Associated with Unresolved Tropical Splenomegaly in a Cohort of Recently Resettled Congolese Refugees in the United States-Multiple States, 2015-2018. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2020; 103:485-493. [PMID: 32372751 PMCID: PMC7356405 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Tropical splenomegaly is often associated with malaria and schistosomiasis. In 2014 and 2015, 145 Congolese refugees in western Uganda diagnosed with splenomegaly during predeparture medical examinations underwent enhanced screening for various etiologies. After anecdotal reports of unresolved splenomegaly and complications after U.S. arrival, patients were reassessed to describe long-term clinical progression after arrival in the United States. Post-arrival medical information was obtained through medical chart abstraction in collaboration with state health partners in nine participating states. We evaluated observed splenomegaly duration and associated clinical sequelae between 130 case patients from eastern Congo and 102 controls through adjusted hierarchical Poisson models, accounting for familial clustering. Of the 130 case patients, 95 (73.1%) had detectable splenomegaly after arrival. Of the 85 patients with records beyond 6 months, 45 (52.9%) had persistent splenomegaly, with a median persistence of 14.7 months (range 6.0-27.9 months). Of the 112 patients with available results, 65 (58.0%) patients had evidence of malaria infection, and the mean splenomegaly duration did not differ by Plasmodium species. Refugees with splenomegaly on arrival were 43% more likely to have anemia (adjusted relative risk [aRR]: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.04-1.97). Those with persistent splenomegaly were 60% more likely (adjusted relative risk [aRR]: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.15-2.23) to have a hematologic abnormality, particularly thrombocytopenia (aRR: 5.53, 95% CI: 1.73-17.62), and elevated alkaline phosphatase (aRR: 1.57, 95% CI: 1.03-2.40). Many patients experienced persistent splenomegaly, contradicting literature describing resolution after treatment and removal from an endemic setting. Other possible etiologies should be investigated and effective treatment, beyond treatment for malaria and schistosomiasis, explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Divens Zambrano
- Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Emily Jentes
- Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Christina Phares
- Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Michelle Weinberg
- Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - S. Patrick Kachur
- Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York
| | | | | | - Moses Mwesigwa
- International Organization for Migration, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marwan Naoum
- International Organization for Migration, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Samuel Lubwama Nsobya
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda
- Infectious Disease Research Collaboration, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Olivia Samson
- Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
| | - Matthew Goers
- Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- Division of Global Health Protection, Center for Global Health, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Robert McDonald
- Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York
| | | | - Henry Njuguna
- Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- Washington State Department of Health, Tumwater, Washington
| | - Corey Peak
- Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Rebecca Laws
- Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California
| | - Yasser Bakhsh
- Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- California Department of Public Health, Sacramento, California
| | - Sally Ann Iverson
- Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- Arizona Department of Health Services, Phoenix, Arizona
| | - Carla Bezold
- Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- Arizona Department of Health Services, Phoenix, Arizona
| | | | - Roberta Horth
- Epidemic Intelligence Service, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- Utah Department of Health, Salt Lake City, Utah
| | - Jun Yang
- Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
| | - Susan Miller
- Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
| | - Michael Kacka
- South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - Abby Davids
- Family Medicine Residency of Idaho, Boise, Idaho
| | | | - William Stauffer
- Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
- University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
| | - Nina Marano
- Division of Global Migration and Quarantine, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia
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