Twice as many malaria deaths

Twice as many people have died of malaria as published by WHO

03.02.2012

Malaria is one of the most insidious infectious diseases in which mainly children in the tropics and subtropics die. It is transmitted by the bite of a female mosquito of the genus Anopheles. While the World Health Organization (WHO) speaks of 655,000 malaria deaths in 2010, the evaluation of US scientists, who analyzed all available data on the subject and put in place computational models, showed significantly more malaria-related deaths. Christopher Murray of the University of Washington and his staff found that 1.2 million people died in the same year.

Malaria: a poverty-related illness?
Malaria occurs mainly in the tropics and subtropics, which include large parts of the African continent. Her symptoms include first and foremost a very high, recurrent fever that is accompanied by chills, margin problems and cramps. Especially in children, the disease, if left untreated, quickly leads to coma and eventually death. So far there is no approved vaccine against the disease. One of the main reasons given is that malaria mainly affects economically disadvantaged, poor people and pharmaceutical companies see no financial benefit in doing research in this area.

However, at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in the city of Lambarene in Gabon, Africa, a novel vaccine against malaria is being tested on children and infants. The Tübingen tropical medicine professor Peter Kremsner, head of the Gabonese research center, reports about a 50% success rate of the malaria vaccine. But more studies are needed.

As a precaution, travelers from the Western world usually receive a so-called chemoprophylaxis or they carry malaria medications with them (stand-by therapy). Unfortunately, such therapies are often not available to the locals. Fortunately, the scientists noted a significant decline in malaria - related deaths as a result of the intensification of measures to combat malaria „Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria“ traced. They expressly point out the importance of aid funds and stress the great danger of further malaria control by the current difficult financial situation of the funds.

Computational models show the true dimension of malaria
The US scientists report in the journal „The Lancet“ twice as many dead as previously thought. While WHO estimates 655,000 malaria deaths in 2010, the researchers calculated a significantly higher number. After evaluating all available data, they concluded that 1.2 million people died in the same year. Above all, the group of older children and adults was much more affected than previously assumed.

But there is also good news, because the numbers of deaths are significantly lower, the scientists report. While the malaria mortality peaked in 2004 with 1.8 million deaths, in 2010 it was only 1.2 million, about a third less. The researchers also explain that the number of deaths outside of Africa is steadily declining. The most affected groups are children under the age of five. In 2010, the highest number of deaths occurred at 56 percent.

It was particularly surprising for scientists that children over the age of 15 and adults are also severely affected by the disease. They accounted for about a third of the deaths. The experts' opinion to date is that children develop immunity to malaria if they come into contact with the pathogen early on, and therefore die of it as an adult only in exceptional cases.

Malaria mortality figures are controversial
It is striking that the figures on malaria mortality of Christopher Murray and his team are significantly higher than those of the WHO. „The Lancet“ writes in a comment that the analysis will certainly be the subject of numerous debates. This not only affects the overall mortality but also, for example, child mortality, because while experts previously went from 16 percent, the scientists now came to the conclusion that 24 percent of all deceased in 2010 infants in sub-Saharan Africa succumbed to malaria. (Ag)

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Picture: Gerd Altmann
(Model tracing)