An expert warns against confusing childhood fever with malaria

A pediatrician, Dr Usman Ibrahim, has advised parents to avoid confusing symptoms of the common cold in children with malaria and ensure adequate testing before giving them anti-malarial drugs.

He made this known in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria, on Friday.

Ibrahim, Senior Registrar in Paediatrics, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, said the common cold is a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract that usually “resolves without specific treatment”.

It identified coughing, runny nose, excessive sneezing and nasal congestion as typical symptoms of the common cold, adding that they could also cause fever, especially in children.

The expert noted that malaria could also manifest itself with fever, but the presence of obvious respiratory symptoms and a negative malaria test from a reliable laboratory helped rule it out.

He highlighted that some laboratories lacked the necessary expertise to diagnose malaria via microscopy, leading to overdiagnosis of the disease.

Ibrahim said parents often confuse cold symptoms with malaria due to diagnostic errors and poor knowledge of both parents and some health workers.

It warned that giving anti-malarial drugs without adequate testing could increase the risk of drug resistance and expose children to avoidable side effects, while also delaying the diagnosis of more serious conditions.

The pediatrician advised that home management with fluids and paracetamol may be sufficient when the child was breathing well, eating and drinking satisfactorily, remaining alert and able to carry out normal activities.

However, he urged parents to seek medical attention immediately if they experience symptoms such as rapid breathing, repeated vomiting, extreme weakness or seizures.

Ibrahim also advised parents to go to hospital whenever they were worried about their child’s health, even when the symptoms did not appear serious.