In MalariaWorld this week there is an interesting article. ‘Malaria incidence rose following the introduction of neonicotinoid-based IRS in selected districts in northern Ghana: An observational analysis’ by Coleman et al described how there was a significant increase in the occurrence of malaria (26%) when nicotinamide insecticides replaced organophosphates in IRS programmes in Ghana from […]
Author: ulick
WHO Approach to Malaria Lacks Real Innovation
MalariaWorld this week carried details an announcement by WHO (World Health Organization) on April 24 last week, the eve of World Malaria Day. The highlight of the article was the new prequalification of an artemether-lumefantrine treatment, that is the first antimalarial formulation designed specifically for the youngest malaria patients (<6 months). The treatment, produced by […]
Naïve to Expect Vaccines to Eliminate Malaria
On the eve of World Malaria Day (April 25) there is a reference to a Nature editorial in MalariaWorld. ‘Malaria deaths should be falling — not rising’ has the subheading ‘The tools exist to end this killer disease. It is the money and the will that are lacking’. This is an interesting complaint considering just […]
Nets Ineffective at Preventing Malaria but are Promoted Anyway
An interesting article referenced in MalariaWorld this week found that household net use showed no significant association with malaria of children under five (CU5) after controlling for wealth index. ‘Risk factors for malaria among children under five living in net-owning households in Mozambique from the 2022–3 Demographic and Health Survey’ by Mooney et al examined […]
Malaria Linked to Acute Kidney Injury in Paediatric Patients
A study in MalariaWorld this week found a strong link between malaria and acute kidney injury (AKI) in paediatric patients in Nigeria. ‘A study using point of care creatinine testing in a Nigerian primary health care centre: Malaria as the leading cause of Acute Kidney Injury particularly in children’ by Ugwem-Ikuru et al published in […]
Gut Microbiome Linked to Malaria Risk
A study reported in MalariaWorld this week found a connection between gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome and protection against malaria. ‘Distinct gastrointestinal microbial signatures predict parasite levels in controlled Plasmodium infections in both rhesus macaques and humans’ by Gustin et al found that Rhesus macaques fed with a high protein diet were less susceptible to Plasmodium infections […]
Malaria Vaccines are Cost-Ineffective
In MalariaWorld this week there is a study that found that implementing the malaria vaccine would lead to significant increase in Uganda’s immunization budget and the overall health sector budgets. In ‘The Cost and Budget Impact of Malaria Vaccine Introduction in Uganda’ Ochanda et al examined the cost impact of the addition of doses of […]
Can Chlorine Dioxide Cure Malaria?
After St Patrick’s Day mass in Nairobi I learned about a trial in Uganda in 2012 in which the water treatment agent, chlorine dioxide (sodium chlorite and acid activator) was found to cure malaria. And this effective solution was covered up. I found a video describing the trial and have uploaded it to Rumble ‘LEAKED […]
The Futility of Bug Hunting?
In MalariaWorld this week my eye was drawn to the strangely titled ‘Musings from a Vectosaur: Malaria in 2026’ by Manuel F. Lluberas. Vectosaur seems to be a word invented by Lluberas from the physics term vector meaning a quantity that has both magnitude and direction (that is often applied to insects that supposedly spread […]
Malaria linked to Malnutrition in Burkina Faso Study
A study in MalariaWorld this week reported there was an increased risk of malaria infection in undernourished children compared to children with an adequate nutritional status. ‘Malaria and malnutrition in children under the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) coverage in the health district of Nanoro, Burkina Faso’ by Compaore et al found that malnourished children were […]