The “Less Happy” Story: Malaria Increases in Uganda
By Preeti Singh, March 23, 2015
While malaria cases are declining globally, they remain high and on the increase in rural Uganda, suggesting that more aggressive methods of controlling the disease in high-transmission areas of sub-Saharan Africa are urgently needed, according to a new two-year surveillance study published online in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene.
“It’s important to tell the less happy story that we have not yet seen advances in more rural areas, including at least two sites in Uganda, where transmission has been historically high,” said study co-author, Dr. Grant Dorsey, professor of infectious diseases as the University of California, San Francisco.
The results indicate that high-transmission countries like Uganda will need to scale up campaigns to distribute insecticide-treated bednets and spray homes with insecticides, according to the study authors. They should also look into new interventions such as using malaria drugs for prevention and controlling mosquito larvae in order to match the malaria reduction successes seen elsewhere in the world.
The study, led by an international team of scientists, offers the most accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date measurement of the disease burden of malaria in Uganda, which is among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 198 million people each year are infected, and at least 584,000 people, mostly children in sub-Saharan Africa, were estimated to have died from malaria in 2013.
To learn more, check out the following articles:
Study: Aggressive Malaria Approach Needed – Voice of America
Uganda’s rural areas register rising cases of malaria – study– New Vision
Successes in malaria control lost in rural sub-Saharan Africa – Infectious Disease News
Malaria cases on the increase – new study – Daily Monitor
Malaria burden stays high in Uganda – The East African
