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Malaria remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and is responsible for over 0.5 million annual deaths globally. During the first two decades of this century, scale-up of a range of tools was associated with significant reductions in malaria mortality in the primary risk group, young African children.
Since their first detection in 2010, Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasites lacking the P. falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 gene (pfhrp2) have been observed in 40 of 47 surveyed countries, as documented by the World Health Organization. These genetic deletions reduce detection by the most widely used rapid diagnostic tests, prompting three countries to switch to alternative diagnostics.
Since its inception in 2005, the US President's Malaria Initiative (PMI) has played a major role in the reductions in malaria morbidity and mortality observed across Africa. With the status of PMI funding and operations currently uncertain, we aimed to quantify the impact that a fully functioning PMI would have on malaria cases and deaths in Africa during 2025.
In high-transmission areas, school-aged children have higher malaria prevalence and contribute significantly to the transmission reservoir. Malaria infections can be asymptomatic or present with symptoms which may contribute to anaemia, severe illness and fatal malaria. This analysis provides trends of malaria prevalence and associated risk factors among school-aged children in mainland Tanzania.
Global efforts led by The Kids Research Institute Australia’s Child Health Analytics program will see nations impacted by high rates of malaria empowered to develop their own controls and solutions.
Malaria incidence (MI) has significantly declined in Nepal, and this study aimed to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution and drivers of MI at the ward level. Data for malaria cases were obtained from the National Surveillance System from 2013 to 2021. Data for covariates, including annual mean temperature, annual mean precipitation, and distance to the nearest city, were obtained from publicly available sources. A Bayesian spatial model was used to identify factors associated with the spatial distribution of MI.
The clinical development of novel vaccines, injectable therapeutics, and oral chemoprevention drugs has the potential to deliver significant advancements in the prevention of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. These innovations could support regions in accelerating malaria control, transforming existing intervention packages by supplementing interventions with imperfect effectiveness or offering an entirely new tool.
Melissa Penny PhD, PD, BSc (Hons) Professor Fiona Stanley Chair in Child Health Research melissa.penny@thekids.org.au Professor Fiona Stanley Chair
Malaria risk maps are crucial for controlling and eliminating malaria by identifying areas of varying transmission risk. In the Greater Mekong Subregion, these maps guide interventions and resource allocation. This article focuses on analysing changes in malaria transmission and developing fine-scale risk maps using five years of routine surveillance data in Laos (2017-2021). The study employed data from 1160 geolocated health facilities in Laos, along with high-resolution environmental data.
Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine prevents millions of clinical malaria cases in children younger than 5 years in Africa's Sahel region. However, Plasmodium falciparum parasites partially resistant to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (with quintuple mutations) potentially threaten the protective effectiveness of SMC. We evaluated the spread of quintuple-mutant parasites and the clinical consequences.