Cerebral Malaria is highly misdiagnosed. It appears it gives Physicians tunnel vision.
Finding malaria parasites in a blood smear or a positive rapid diagnostic test (RDT) in a sick child does not necessarily mean that malaria is the cause of the illness. Yet severe malaria is the usual diagnosis in a hospitalised febrile African child with a positive blood smear or RDT.
Differentiating severe bacterial infections from severe malaria is difficult, and the two commonly coexist. This is where ASPIRE comes in to help differentiate this.