Martha B., 7

Martha is a 7-year-old girl currently in PP2 at a local primary school. She enjoys playing legball with her peers and dreams of becoming a teacher when she grows up. She lives with her parents—her father works as a casual laborer, and her mother is a cleaner at a nearby primary school. Together, they earn an average of KES 3,000 per month. Martha has been diagnosed with sickle cell disease and has experienced recurrent episodes of anemia, having been diagnosed more than three times in the past. Due to financial constraints, her family often cannot afford to complete her full course of treatment. She typically only manages about a week's supply of medication before going without for long periods. In the past week, Martha has shown worsening symptoms, including dizziness, severe tiredness, and getting easily fatigued. When she presented at the health facility, she was also complaining of cough, fever, and lower abdominal pain.

She was diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infection and has been on sickle cell medication she was given drugs discharged for outpatient care through monthly follow ups.Later on phone call check up her mother was happy and confirmed that Martha is now go to school and she is back to her usual activeness.

If Martha was left untreated upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in someone with sickle cell anemia (SCA) could be life-threatening and trigger a vaso-occlusive crisis, particularly acute chest syndrome (ACS), a leading cause of death in the condition. Infections weaken the immune system and increase inflammation, leading to sickled cells blocking lung blood vessels, resulting in fever, chest pain, and difficulty breathing, which may require emergency, intensive care treatment and can progress to multi-organ failure.