India topped countries in the South-East Asia region for the most number of malaria cases and deaths in 2022, according to this report published by the World Health Organization (WHO). Each year, WHO’s World malaria report provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of trends in malaria control and elimination across …
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a combination therapy to ensure that Plasmodium falciparum, the malaria parasite, does not develop resistance against the drug artemisinin. This is the only drug effective against falciparum malaria at present. WHO's malaria department has also asked pharmaceutical companies to stop marketing single-drug tablets. …
function table() { var popurl="image/20060131/37-graph.jpg" winpops=window.open(popurl,"","width=385,height=350,scrollbars=yes") } spaced out South stuck between rock and hard place A good example of how manouevring space for developing countries is being constrained is the case of the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (mmr). A generation ago, in Delhi you could get vaccinated …
The technology for developing new vaccines and the research that goes into it is becoming increasingly sophisticated and dependent upon an enormous corpus of funds to get off the blocks. This is raising important issues relating to pricing, access and international equity. Take the flu vaccine
artemisinin is the only drug available right now against Plasmodium falciparum, one of the malaria-causing pathogens. But its indiscriminate use may make the drug ineffectual, warns a study published in The Lancet (Vol 366, No 9501, December 3, 2005). Though the World Health Organization (who) recommends that artemisinin should be …
A degraded environment brings with it a set of health problems - some new and some, which have posed a challenge over the years. Presenting Body Burden, a compilation of reports from Down to Earth on the health impacts of environment pollution in India.
two genetic disorders, the sickle cell (deformed red blood cell) trait and alpha thalassemia (a type of anaemia), are known to provide a natural defence against malaria. This prompted scientists to think their occurrence together would be even more potent. However, a recent study among 2,000 Kenyan children by scientists …
a joint study by scientists from Africa and France shows mosquitoes (vector) are more attracted to people already infected with the malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. This helps P falciparum orchestrate its own onward transmission from within the human body. It can manipulate the biting behaviour of the mosquito vector when …
Predicted impacts on human health due to climate change include increases in temperature related illnesses, vector borne diseases, health impacts related to extreme weather events, and health effects due to food insecurity. These changes will require more emphasis to be placed on planning for health facilities, as well as increased …
fungi commonly used as biopesticides for paddy and coffee cultivation in India may be equally effective against malaria-spreading mosquitoes, claim scientists. Two independent research papers published in Science (June 10, Vol 308, No 5728) claim spraying spores of these fungi on walls and clothes can not only kill mosquitoes but …
Tropical cyclones—variously defined as hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones—regularly impact human populations and periodically produce devastating weather-related natural disasters. The epidemiology of tropical cyclones is fundamentally determined by the physical forces of massive cyclonic systems intersecting with patterns of human behavior. The destructive forces of cyclonic winds, inundating rains, and storm …
malaria and human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) infection are both endemic in several countries. While the effects of hiv infection on malaria have been documented, can malaria also enhance hiv transmission and accelerate disease progression? The answer is in the affirmative, according to a recently published article in The Lancet (Vol …
understanding the dynamics of human migration is essential to prevent spread of malaria to new areas, according to a study published in the December 2004 issue of Current Science (Vol 87, No 12). Researchers from the Malaria Research Centre in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh cite the example of the malaria epidemic …
The terms of reference of the National Commission on Macroeconomics & Health, included among others, a critical appraisal of the present health system — both in the public and the private sector — and suggesting ways and means of further strengthening it with the specific objective of improving access to …
In late September, Richard Feachem of the Global Fund for aids, tb and Malaria (gfatm) visited India, only to be embroiled in a controversy when the media fell upon statements he made regarding India having overtaken South Africa as the world's no 1 country with hiv/aids cases. So, while the …
A gang of boisterous children entering people's homes at will, peering into their water tanks and emblazoning their walls with slogans, would seem intrusive to most
scientists have developed a malaria vaccine that shows some success in controlling the disease. Though it will have to be used in combination with available drugs and preventive methods to offer full protection, experts hope it would prove especially useful in malaria-endemic regions. The vaccine is still in the trial …
two genes of a malaria parasite that are responsible for its multiplication have been silenced by scientists at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (icgeb), New Delhi. The scientists say their work, carried out on mice, may provide a new approach to treat the disease in humans. A …
after the failure of its fogging drive and public awareness campaigns aimed at combating dengue and malaria, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (mcd) has decided to use oviposition (ov) traps. This tool is widely used in Singapore
the discovery of a malaria parasite protein associated with severe a childhood form of the disease could help save thousands of lives. The protein has been found by researchers from Denmark-based University of Copenhagen, uk-based London School of Tropical Hygiene, Tanzania-based National Institute for Medical Research, and the Netherlands based …
