Team:Calgary/Sandbox

Infectious diseases including dengue fever, typhoid fever, and meningitis are symptomatically similar to malaria, and thus are often misdiagnosed in resource-poor developing countries lacking suitable medical diagnostic facilities. The lack of reliable rapid diagnostic tests to diagnose diseases, such as typhoid fever and meningitis, and a reduced capacity to perform standard tests to accurately diagnose these diseases contribute significantly to the problem of misdiagnosis. Due to these diagnostic challenges, patients can also undergo treatment for multiple diseases like malaria and typhoid fever despite a lack of confirmed diagnosis of co-infection. Improper treatment may prolong illness and cause adverse side effects in patients, in addition to a loss of faith in established health services. Misdiagnosis can also result in increased economic burdens and anti-malarial drug resistance. In Sudan, the 2000 annual cost of both treatment and diagnosis of malaria was $100 million USD whereas the calculated cost of accurate malaria.