Malaria levels fall significantly in The Gambia
The introduction of free insecticide-treated bednets have helped lead to a significant drop in people in The Gambia becoming infected with malaria since 2003, a study funded by the Medical Research Council has shown.
The study’s findings throw weight behind the proposal that increased investment in malaria interventions in Africa can have a major effect on reducing morbidity and mortality from the disease.
Researchers did a retrospective analysis of original records to establish numbers and proportions of malaria inpatients, deaths, and blood-slide examinations at one hospital over nine years, and at four health facilities in three different administrative regions in The Gambia over seven years.
Findings revealed:
• Between 2003 and 2007, at the four sites with complete slide examination records, the proportion of people with malaria and parasites decreased by 82%, 85%, 73%, and 50%.
• At three sites with complete admission records, the proportions of malaria admissions fell by 74%, 69%, and 27%.
• Proportions of deaths attributed to malaria in two hospitals decreased by 100% (seven of 115 in 2003 to none of 117 in 2007) and 90% (22/122 in 2003 to one of 58 in 2007).
Communicating author, Dr David Conway from the Medical Research Council Unit in The Gambia, said: “These findings should urge leaders to push policies and research to see whether malaria can be eliminated as a public-health problem in some areas.
“During the past few years, increased efforts to control malaria in The Gambia, and some other parts of Africa, have had very significant results. One of the most substantial changes has been free distribution of insecticide-treated bednets for children younger than five years.
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Notes to editors:
- Changes in malaria indices between 1999 and 2007 in The Gambia: a retrospective analysis. Lancet 2008; 372: 1545–54
- The Medical Research Council supports the best scientific research to improve human health. Its work ranges from molecular level science to public health medicine and has led to pioneering discoveries in our understanding of the human body and the diseases which affect us all. www.mrc.ac.uk
- The World Health Organisation estimates malaria infected 247 million people worldwide in 2006, causing nearly one million deaths, mostly children under five years old. (Latest data available)
