Bacteremia in febrile Malawian children: clinical and microbiologic features

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There are no published data for the incidence or etiology of childhood bacteremia in Malawi. We describe the clinical and microbiologic features of children admitted to hospital from whom blood cultures yielded bacterial pathogens. METHODS: Any neonate or child admitted to the pediatric wards of the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital had a blood culture taken in the event of fever without obvious clinical explanation. Clinical and microbiologic data were prospectively collected for children with a significant positive culture. RESULTS: Between September, 1996, and August, 1997, we processed 2,123 cultures. Of these, 365 (17.2%) grew a pathogen. Non-typhi salmonellae (NTS) and enter..