Drug boost could save thousands of children

Scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine working in the UK and Africa say giving children a monthly medicine would protect them against malaria.

The mosquito-borne disease is thought to affect almost half of the world’s population and is particularly rife during rainy season.

The research into seasonal malaria focused on Africa where the disease is most prevalent. It discovered that regular medicine could mean around 11 million cases of malaria and approximately 50,000 deaths could be prevented every year if the approach were to be fully implemented.

Children are particularly susceptible to the disease, which is estimated to cause more than 200 million illnesses and contributes to an estimated 655,000 deaths around the globe every year.

The study, published on the Nature Communications website, shows that in some parts of Africa, where malaria is only a major problem for a few months of the year, providing monthly courses of a cheap, anti-malarial drug combination to young children when they are at highest risk could prevent approximately 80 per cent of severe and uncomplicated cases.

Currently, anti-insecticides and bed nets are the main deterrent used in the fight against the disease in Africa.

But researchers say regular courses of medicine – which are given to foreign travellers visiting the continent – are likely to offer greater protection, particularly in the young.

Prof Sir Brian Greenwood, one of the senior authors of the study at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a leading expert on malaria control, said: “Excitingly, this is something that is available to put into action immediately, so children will start to benefit from this approach now rather than in three or five years’ time.

“The key is to ensure that the promise becomes a reality.”