For most people in the West, malaria is one of those diseases they only think about when an epidemic results in a death toll that grabs the headlines. Such a disconnect is not surprising given that it is in Africa and in parts of Southeast Asia where this killer has survived.
But the number of deaths, approaching 1 million a year, demands our attention. In light of the fact that infants and toddlers are most at risk, ignorance of malaria is no excuse for doing nothing.
Indeed, the solutions seem so simple that it is almost criminal that this disease still exists. By providing better access to bed nets, indoor spraying, improved diagnosis and treatment, preventative measures for pregnant women and development of new vaccines, the number of deaths could be reduced to zero in just seven years. … Nearly a quarter billion people get malaria each year, according to a World Health Organization report last week. That figure halved an earlier estimate of 500 million, based on improved measurement techniques. WHO left unchanged its latest figure for malaria deaths: 881, 000 people killed by malaria in 2006, most of them children under 5.
- The Vindicator (Youngstown, Ohio )
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