News Article
May 10, 2011
DGHI Awards Pilot Grant for Fever Research in Western Kenya
The Duke Global Health Institute has awarded a two-year $50,000 pilot grant to DGHI faculty member Wendy O’Meara and Duke Global Health Fellow Thomas Holland to study non-malarial causes of fever among children at a rural district hospital in western Kenya. This is the first pilot awarded by the DGHI Emerging Infections Working Group.
Though malaria has long been recognized as one of the preeminent contributors to childhood mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, recent data show a decline in deaths due to malaria, including in Kenya. It is expected that other pathogens are emerging as important contributors to the burden of pediatric illness, yet there lacks evidence describing the etiologies of acute febrile illness.
The project aims to describe how non-malarial pathogens such as group A streptococcus, rickettsia and respiratory viruses contribute to acute febrile illness among children admitted to the Webuye District Hospital with fever.
“We are grateful for this pilot funding from DGHI which will allow us to better understand the causes of fevers in children in rural Kenya,” said O’Meara. “We hope this study will pave the way for improved diagnosis and clinical care for childhood illnesses and reduce morbidity and mortality.”
The study is important because despite revised guidelines advocating confirmation of malaria infection prior to treatment, it is believed that a majority of Kenyan outpatients with fever are routinely prescribed antimalarial drugs.
The research team will also evaluate the appropriateness of current clinical guidelines for the management of pediatric fevers among hospital patients and identify community risk factors for malaria and rickettsial infection as model systems for zoonotic and vector-borne infections.
O’Meara is Assistant Professor of Medicine and Global Health in the division of Infectious Diseases who specializes in malaria and pediatric infectious diseases. She is a visiting professor at Moi University School of Public Health and co-director for field research at AMPATH. Holland is a clinical associate in the division of Infectious Diseases and is completing the Duke Global Health and Infectious Disease Fellowship in Kenya this year where he is studying the burden of rheumatic heart disease among children.
Other collaborators on the project include William Pan of DGHI and Janice Armstrong and Jeremiah Laktabai of Moi University School of Medicine, Kenya.