[Imported malaria at the Marseilles Hôpital-Nord, France: a prospective study on 352 cases between 2001 and 2003]

The authors had for aim to study epidemiological, clinical, and parasitological characteristics, as well as regimen received, of imported malaria cases hospitalised at the North University Hospital, in Marseilles, France.

The patients presenting with imported malaria included in this study were hospitalised in the infectious and tropical diseases unit and in the pediatrics unit at the North University Hospital, from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2003. Variables were prospectively collected and recorded.

352 patients including 240 adults and 112 children were included. Most of them (67% of the adults and 92% of the children) were contaminated during a trip to the Comoros Islands. Plasmodium falciparum was the most common species identified. 97.5% of adult and 98% of child patients back from Comoros did not take any chemoprophylaxis against malaria or took inadequate regimens. Halofantrin was the most commonly used drug for children to treat uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria. In adults, atovaquone-proguanil was used as a first line drug in the absence of vomiting, and a 3-day intravenous regimen of quinine-clindamycin in case of vomiting.

The specificity of imported malaria in Marseilles is the high proportion of Comorian patients who go back home periodically to visit friends and relatives. A better education of the Comorian population in Marseilles, regarding malaria risks and prophylaxis, needs to be implemented.