Comprehensive Report: Febrile Illness and Public Health in Canada

This report addresses febrile illness, a significant health concern for newcomers, particularly refugees, to Canada, often manifesting as chills and fever within the first year of arrival. It emphasizes malaria as a primary diagnosis, transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes, and highlights preventive measures like antimalarial drugs and mosquito control. The report details common symptoms such as elevated body temperature, dizziness, and potential complications like seizures in children. It outlines the period of infection and the support systems in place, including the Rapid Assessment of Febrile Travelers’ (RAFT) Program, which guides patient care and hospital admissions. The report also covers reporting procedures, focusing on initial travel history and parental notification, and the importance of culturally competent care. References to key research articles and studies are included to support the findings and recommendations for public health interventions.

Running head: FEBRILE ILLNESS 1
Febrile Illness
Name
Institution

FEBRILE ILLNESS 2
Febrile Illness
Newcomers to Canada often experience particular health concerns upon arriving,
especially refugees. Illness is one of the health concern that is likely to be encountered by
newcomers to Canada. One of the common illness is a febrile illness that is characterized by
chills within the first 6-12 months of arrival in Canada. This illness is common among children.
In medical terms, febrile illness refers to fever or elevation in body temperature. This occurs
when the body is invaded by a pathogen and the immune system is activated to fight it off. One
of the main diagnosis of febrile illness is malaria in Canada for newcomers.
Transmission and how it can be reduced
Febrile illness is mainly diagnosed by malaria, which is transmitted only by the
Anopheles mosquitoes. Malaria transmission can be reduced by use of transmission measures
such as the use of antimalarial drugs. Another transmission measure is keeping mosquitoes from
biting both children and adults, particularly at night by sleeping under insecticide-treated bed
nets and utilizing insect repellents.
Common Signs and Symptoms
One of the common symptoms of febrile illness is elevated body temperature (Enarson et
al., 2012). In certain circumstances, it can be accompanied by dizziness, headaches, sweats
muscle pain, chills joint weakness and pain. Vital signs include wheezing and coughing. In very
young children, the fever may be accompanied by seizures. Diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea may
also occur.
Period of Infection

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For most children and adults, symptoms start 10 days to four weeks after infection
although in certain cases, the symptoms can start as early as 7 days after infection or as late as
one year later after infection Gushulak, Pottie, Roberts, Torres & DesMeules, 2010).
How Schools/ Programs / Works Support the Infected Person
The infected person is supported by the use of the Rapid Assessment of Febrile
Travelers’ (RAFT) Program. In this program, a RAFT algorithm is used to triage infected
children to admission in the hospital when there are vital signs that are unstable. Alternatively,
vital laboratory derangements, volume depletion or RAFT clinic referral is done on the same day
if the infected person will fail to meet the admission criteria (Jazuli et al., 2016). The patient is
provided with supportive therapy, which includes fluids to prevent dehydration, acetaminophen
for fever and glucose to prevent hypoglycemia.
Malaria affects children more especially those below five years who tend to be the most
vulnerable group. However, it should be noted that febrile illness affects people of all ages.
Reporting and Presentation Focus
One of the main documentation that is done is taking the initial travel history of the
patient and conducting various investigations to rule out whether malaria is what is causing
febrile illness (Doan, Enarson, Kissoon, Klassen & Johnson, 2012). Travel history is kept in
order to track the country of origin to determine whether it is Malaria endemic region or not.
Such information is very useful to the government of Canada in taking necessary measures to
curb malaria. In case, the child gets sick, the first person to be informed is the parent because
they have legal rights to that. They are informed through urgent phone calls. The ministry of

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health is also informed to start tracking the patient. Informing a parent is also one way of
respecting culture so that patient care is provided in a culturally competent and safe manner.

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References
Doan, Q., Enarson, P., Kissoon, N., Klassen, T., & Johnson, D. (2012). Rapid viral diagnosis for
acute febrile respiratory illness in children in the Emergency Department. Cochrane
Database Of Systematic Reviews.
Enarson, M., Ali, S., Vandermeer, B., Wright, R., Klassen, T., & Spiers, J. (2012). Beliefs and
Expectations of Canadian Parents Who Bring Febrile Children for Medical
Care. PEDIATRICS, 130(4), e905-e912.
Gushulak, B., Pottie, K., Roberts, J., Torres, S., & DesMeules, M. (2010). Migration and health
in Canada: health in the global village. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 183(12),
E952-E958.
Jazuli, F., Lynd, T., Mah, J., Klowak, M., Jechel, D., & Klowak, S. et al. (2016). Evaluation of a
programme for ‘Rapid Assessment of Febrile Travelers’ (RAFT): a clinic-based quality
improvement initiative. BMJ Open, 6(7), e010302.