Blackwater fever at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Kenya: a case report

Blackwater fever was an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the beginning of this century particularly in West and Central Africa. There has been a marked reduction in the incidence of blackwater fever since 1950 and only sporadic cases occur nowadays. At the Kenyatta National Hospital, three cases of blackwater fever have been seen in the past four years whereas not a single case had been reported between 1975 and 1988. Two of the patients fit into the classical description of blackwater fever and one was possibly due to drug induced haemolysis in a G6PD deficiency patient.