Community-based prevalence of typhoid fever, typhus, brucellosis and malaria among symptomatic individuals in Afar Region, Ethiopia

OBJECTIVE:
In sub-Saharan Africa, where there is the scarcity of proper diagnostic tools, febrile illness related symptoms are often misdiagnosed as malaria. Information on causative agents of febrile illness related symptoms among pastoral communities in Ethiopia have rarely been described. In this a community based cross-sectional survey, we assessed the prevalence of typhoid fever, typhus, brucellosis and malaria among individuals with a set of given symptoms in Amibara district, Afar Region, Ethiopia.
RESULTS:
Among 650 individuals who were complaining symptoms, 46 (7.3%), 88 (14.0%), 28 (4.4%) and 16 (2.5%) were diagnosed for typhoid fever, typhus, brucellosis and malaria in that order. However, for the majority of the participants (75.4%), the cause of their illness remained unknown, and further investigations on the causative agents of febrile illness related symptoms is important in the present study area.