Paediatric malaria: What do paediatricians need to know?

Although malaria is principally a disease of the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, it is an important disease to be familiar with for both local and global reasons. It remains to be one of the most important infectious diseases of the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, killing more than one million people - mostly children - every year. In Canada, at least 350 to 1100 imported cases are reported annually, 25% of which are in the paediatric age group, as a result of both travel and migration. Because malaria is a potentially severe and sometimes fatal disease that is unfamiliar to many paediatricians in Canada, it is important that clinicians become familiar with its clinical presentation; understand when it should be suspected; and have an approach to prompt diagnosis, appropriate treatment and effective prevention methods.