Febrile Illness in Guinea

Multidisciplinary Surveillance and Investigation of Febrile Illness in Guinea

To date, the underlying causes of community-acquired fever, particularly non-malarial fever, are insufficiently documented in Guinea. Moreover, diagnostic capacity is limited, leading to inadequate prescription of antibiotics and antimalarials, as well as substantial delay in outbreak recognition. Thus, the investigators undertook a prospective observational multi-centric cohort study of febrile patients presenting at the emergency and outpatient department of selected health centers, districts and regional hospitals in four ecologically distinct sentinel health districts in Guinea.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age ≥2 months old
• Documented fever (axillary temperature >37.5°C) at presentation or fever reported within the prior 24 hours
• Availability for follow-up for 21 days
• Willingness and ability of the patient or culturally acceptable representative to give informed consent for participation in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of hospitalization (for > 48 hours within the last 14 days) at any health facility