Study says malaria toll underestimated

A new study has found that the global death toll from malaria is more than twice as high as has been previously reported. The study from the Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) stated that deaths may be as high as 2.7 million annually, contrasted with the figure of 1 million that had been widely cited for decades. More than 75% of the deaths occur among African children, with many of the deaths caused by conditions brought on by malaria infection such as anaemia and hypoglycemia. The Ministry of Health estimates that malaria kills between 70,000 and 110,000 Ugandan children every year and accounts for 25% to 40% of out-patient visits. The MIM study also finds a strong link between malaria and poverty. For example, growth of income per capita from 1965 to 1990 for countries with severe malaria transmission was only 0.4% per year, whereas economic growth for countries with fewer malaria infections was 2.3% per year, more than five times higher. “To address the pervasive and intractable problems that malaria represents, it is essential that malaria’s full burden on societies and families be measured both epidemiologically and economically,” said Gerald T. Keusch, M.D., Associate Director MIM. For more than 50 years, the mantra of “one million annual deaths due to malaria” has been cited by scientists and journalists. The supplement states that, at a minimum, between 700,000 and 2.7 million people die annually from malaria, over 75% of them African children. Over 85% of these malaria-induced childhood deaths are due to anaemia, low birth weight, and hypoglycemia. The supplement adds that between 400 and 900 million acute febrile episodes occur annually in African children under the age of five living in malaria-endemic regions, and that this number will double by 2020 if effective control interventions are not implemented. High fevers and febrile convulsions in infants and children retard brain development. The supplement presents new information about the cause-effect connections between malaria and poverty. For example, growth of income per capita from 1965 to 1990 for countries with severe malaria transmission was only 0.4% per year, whereas economic growth for countries with fewer malaria infections was 2.3% per year, more than five times higher. NIH News release