Introduction: Malaria and arboviral diseases have similar symptoms, including fever, body aches, and headaches. Since the introduction of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria, the diagnosis of non-malarial febrile illnesses has become a major challenge in patient management. The aim of this study is to describe and analyze the clinical practices of healthcare providers after a negative malaria test in a symptomatic patient in Senegal. Methods: A cross-sectional study for descriptive and analytical purposes. The work was carried out between October 2024 and March 2025. A structured questionnaire was administered online to the participants. The data collected in Excel were analyzed using R software version 4.3.1. Results: A total of 168 healthcare providers participated in this study, representing 60% nurses, 24% physicians, 12% midwives, and 4% other health workers. When a malaria test was negative, 63.69% proposed symptomatic treatment (antipyretic), and 20.83% prescribed antibiotics. Typhoid fever was investigated by 29.76% of providers, and dengue fever by 19.68%. Conclusion: The management of patients presenting with malaria-like symptoms with negative test malaria parasites can sometimes be difficult. Improving the availability of arbovirus screening methods may be beneficial in a context where diseases such as dengue fever are spreading.
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