Carlos Exposito |
Nairobi (EFE).- The fight against malaria, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes, is at a critical stage for Africa, which produces 94% of the cases, with the hope of obtaining approval from two new vaccines stop the progression of the disease.
“The fight is at a critical time. In the last few years it has become clear that there has been stagnation,” said the coordinator of psychology of the Target Malaria research consortium in Uganda, Krysal Birungi, to EFE during the Day Between -National Malaria Day, which will be celebrated this Thursday.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ‘World Malaria Report 2023’, in 2022 there were 249 million cases – five million more than in 2021 – and more than 600,000 deaths.
94% of cases occur in Africa, half in Nigeria (27%), Democratic Republic of Congo (12%), Uganda (5%) and Mozambique (4%).
“In the last twenty years, malaria has decreased significantly throughout the world (…). The problem is that most of it is happening in African countries, where there has been a big increase,” said Jane Carlton, director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute (USA), to EFE .
Insecticide resistance
According to the WHO, despite better access to the population of mosquito nets treated with insecticides or drugs to prevent malaria, the number of people who get this disease is increasing .
The pediatrician at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Sam Akech, explains to EFE that this fact can be attributed to “the resistance of the mosquito to the insect that is used for the net” treatment” or to the fact that “the interventions to control malaria did not reach everyone who needs to receive them. “
Therefore, he said, there were several threats to the global response to malaria, such as drug resistance, humanitarian crises, climate change and delays in program implementation.
“We need additional tools to make progress. So far, what has been successful is the use of mosquito nets and quick treatment,” says Akech.
Climate change, a “major concern”
The WHO has warned that climate change is affecting the spread of malaria.
“It’s a big concern,” Carlton said, “ecological disasters also play a role.”
During severe weather, such as floods, mosquito breeding sites increase, contributing to the spread of malaria.
“That is the effect of climate change. In addition, areas may appear that are more suitable for mosquitoes. So we can have places where mosquitoes couldn’t breed in the past, and now they can,” Akech says.
Another problem, he said, is the disruption of health services. “If there are landslides, people can’t reach health centers, and this is a big challenge, because malaria is still the disease that puts the biggest burden on the health systems of most countries African”.
Hope for the future
Despite the stagnation, the vaccines this situation can change. In 2021, the WHO recommended the RTS,S/AS01 vaccine, better known as Mosquirix, to be used in areas of moderate and high malaria transmission.
Since 2019, in a program coordinated by WHO, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi have given this vaccine to more than two million children, showing a 13% drop in deaths and a significant reduction in severe malaria .
Already in 2023, the WHO approved the use of Mosquirix, as well as a license for a second vaccine, R21 / Matrix-M.
“One of the important approaches to combating malaria is the development of vaccines (…), but there is no magic solution.
Vaccination should be used in conjunction with existing control interventions. This will speed up progress,” says Akech.
These vaccines provide partial immunity, so when someone is vaccinated, they can still get malaria, albeit with less likelihood and severity.
Birungi believes that there is “hope for the future” in being able to “eliminate malaria, but it will take a lot of work and common commitment.”
Carlton is also optimistic: “I definitely see hope. Together, these vaccines will reduce malaria by 75%, and they are already starting to be distributed in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. ”
2024-04-27 05:03:00
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