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Africa: An Eye-Opening Malaria Map
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The East African (Nairobi)
11 March 2008
Posted to the web 11 March 2008
Dagi Kimani
Nairobi
A TOTAL OF TWO BILLION PEOPLE are vulnerable to malaria and at least one billion are at a serious risk of contracting the disease globally, according to a map drawn up by the ingeniously named Malaria Atlas Project (MAP).
The map, developed by researchers from the Kenya Medical Research Institute and Oxford University, shows that many areas face a substantially lower risk than previously thought.
In most of these areas, malaria experts say, the disease could actually be eradicated through concerted interventions such as the use of bednets.
Researchers from the two organisations compiled the map over a two-year period by analysing national malaria statistics, medical intelligence reports, climate variations, travel advisories and surveys of thousands of communities in 87 countries.
MAP was funded by Britain's Wellcome Trust, whose results are published in the online journal, PLoS Medicine.
It was designed to show regions at risk, especially from Plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly malaria parasite, which causes most of the infections in Africa.
"The situation isn't quite as dire for large parts of the planet as people had imagined; with some concerted effort, we could make very deep inroads with the tools that we already have," said Oxford University's Dr Simon Hay.
ELIMINATING THE DISEASE FROM certain regions may be achievable using tools as simple and cost-effective as treated bed nets," he added.
Malaria experts say that eliminating the disease in areas less affected would free funds to fight the disease in sub-Saharan Africa, where the vast majority of the world's over one million malaria deaths occur each year, mostly among children below the age of five and pregnant women.
"By comparing the geographical distribution of malaria risk against spending in that region, we will be able to see how effective funding is being allocated and adjust accordingly," said Prof Bob Snow, head of the MAP team and the KEMRI-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Nairobi.
The malaria map is intended to be dynamic, allowing researchers to update information as more accurate data becomes available or the situation on the ground changes. A lot of factors will be put in consideration as the reducing death tolls due to concerted efforts.
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"It's not just about the science of malaria mapping," says Dr Carlos Guerra from the University of Oxford.
"It's also about making this work accessible to an audience that covers everyone in order to allocate appropriate funds to malaria endemic countries."
Together with HIV/Aids, malaria is one of the leading killlers in East Africa. In the last three years, however, the death toll from the deadly virus has gone down substantially due to the distribution of free bednets and the adoption of artemesinin-based treatments.
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