The malaria or malaria It is a disease caused by parasite Plasmodiumtransmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes of the species He dieds. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) strategy to combat malaria includes the goal of reducing the incidence of cases by at least 75 percent by 2025.
In this sense, the OMS publishes every year ‘World Malaria Report’ to provide an assessment of trends in infection control and elimination worldwide. For the first time this year, the document includes a chapter dedicated to the intersection between climate change and parasitic disease
Changes in temperature, humidity and precipitation can influence the behavior and survival of the mosquito. In turn, extreme weather events, such as heat waves and floodscan also directly affect disease transmission and burden. The floods that hit Pakistan in 2022, for example, caused malaria cases to increase will quintuple in the country.
“The changing climate poses a substantial risk to progress against malaria, particularly in vulnerable regions. “Now more than ever, sustainable and resilient responses to malaria are needed, along with urgent actions to slow the pace of global warming and reduce its effects,” he noted. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General in a statement.
More cases than before the pandemic
More people are becoming infected despite expanded access to health care, new report says Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and drugs to help prevent malaria in minors and pregnant women.
In 2022, it is estimated 249 million cases of malaria worldwideexceeding the pre-pandemic level of 233 million in 2019 by 16 million cases. In short, There were five million more malaria cases than in 2021 and five countries were the most affected by these increases.
Pakistan experienced the largest increase, with around 2.6 million cases in 2022, up from 500,000 in 2021. Significant increases were also seen in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea y Uganda. Meanwhile, in the 11 countries bearing the highest malaria burden, rates of new infections and deaths have stabilized after an initial surge during the first year of the pandemic.
In addition to the problems caused by COVID-19, the global malaria response has faced a growing number of threats, such as resistance to drugs and insecticides, humanitarian crises, resource limitations, impacts of climate change y delays in program implementationespecially in countries with a high burden of the disease, as cited by the WHO.
The report notes that climate variability will continue to have indirect effects on malaria trends through, for example, reduced access to essential anti-malarial services and supply chain disruptions of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, medicines and vaccines.
And although data on the long-term impact of climate change on malaria transmission is scarce, the main hypotheses suggest that the direction and magnitude of any impact will vary depending on the social and ecological systemsboth within and between countries.
Malaria vaccines
He report also cites achievements such as the gradual rollout of the first WHO-recommended malaria vaccine, RTS,S/AS01in three African countries. An evaluation has shown a substantial reduction in severe malaria and a 13 percent drop in early childhood deaths from all causes in areas where the vaccine has been administered compared to areas where the vaccine was not introduced.
In October 2023, WHO recommended a second safe and effective malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M. The availability of two malaria vaccines is expected to increase supply and make their large-scale rollout possible across Africa.
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2023-12-01 09:20:34
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