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Case Management &Elimination &Uncategorized Bill Brieger | 25 Nov 2019 06:29 am

Malaria Case Management Practice and Elimination Readiness in Five Elimination Districts of Madagascar, 2018

Anjoli Anand,* Favero Rachel, Catherine Dentinger, A. Ralaivaomisa, S. Ramamonjisoa, Elaine Razafimandimby, Jocelyn Razafindrakoto, Katherine Wolf, Laura C. Steinhardt, Julie Thwing, Bryan K. Kapella, M. Rabary, Sedera Mioramalala, Jean Pierre Rakotovao presented a poster on “Malaria Case Management Practice and Elimination Readiness in Five Elimination Districts of Madagascar, 2018” at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Their findings are shared below.

Madagascar’s Malaria National Strategic Plan 2018-2022 calls for progressive malaria elimination beginning in low-incidence districts (< 1 case/1000). Although an elimination plan has not yet been developed, optimizing access to prompt diagnosis and quality treatment will be its foundation, along with improving outbreak detection and response, and developing an elimination plan.

There was need to understand current practices in preparation for elimination such as estimating current implementation readiness, documenting current diagnosis and treatment practices (case management), Assessing the use of data to inform decision-making and determining the availability of commodities, training and supervision. To assess this readiness and inform planning, we surveyed health facilities (HFs) and communities.

In September 2018, we randomly selected 35 HFs in 5 of the 8 districts identified for elimination, surveyed 41 HWs and 34 community health volunteers (CHVs), and observed 300 clinical encounters between HWs and patients of all ages. Quantitative and qualitative tools were used to collect data. There were a health facility checklist, an interview guide for health facility providers, a clinical observation guide, a community health volunteer CHV) interview guide, and a stakeholder interview guide.

To evaluate elimination readiness, a composite score was assigned to each HF catchment area that incorporates all survey responses based on commodity availability, malaria CM practices, data management, and supervision practices.

In preliminary results, 8 of 34 (24%) CHVs reported that they do not manage children under 5 years (CU5) with fever at the community level. Of 26 CHVs who care for CU5, 18 (69%) identified history of fever as a criterion for suspected malaria, 20 (77%) reported using a malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) when evaluating patients reporting fever, and 15 (58%) reported giving antimalarials for a positive RDT. Among treating CHVs, 13 (30%) reported having RDTs, and 11 (42%) reported having antimalarials currently available. A

Among facility-based HWs, 83% identified history of fever as a criterion for a suspected case. Of 120 patients with reported or recorded fever, 56 (47%) were tested with an RDT. Five RDTs were positive; a first-line antimalarial was prescribed to 4 of those patients. This evaluation is a baseline for CM performance as Madagascar establishes elimination targets. In the evaluated districts, CM could be improved by strategies to increase testing at CHV and HF levels and address availability of commodity stocks in the community.

*Affiliations: Epidemic Intelligence Service, Malaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States; Maternal Child Survival Program, Washington, DC, United States; US President’s Malaria Initiative; US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Antananarivo, Madagascar; Maternal Child Survival Program, Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar; Maternal Child Survival Program, Antananarivo, Madagascar; US President’s Malaria Initiative, Antananarivo, Madagascar; Malaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Center for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, United States; National Malaria Control Program, Antananarivo, Madagascar

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