[Ip-health] Malaria atlas' project launched

[Michelle Childs]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6210744.stm
Malaria atlas' project launched

Researchers in Kenya and Britain say they are creating a global map
to pinpoint locations where malaria is most likely to strike.

They say it will help fight the mosquito-borne disease by enabling
individual countries to work out infection rates and required drugs.

The map should be complete within 18 months, the researchers say.

Some 40% of the world's population, mostly in poor tropical nations,
are at risk of malaria, studies suggest.

Malaria is preventable and curable, but can be fatal if not treated
promptly.

It kills more than a million people a year - mostly young children in
sub-Saharan Africa - and is a factor in many other deaths.

Inadequate data

Writing in the open access journal Plos Medicine, the researchers say
they are gathering information for the Malaria Atlas Project (Map).

It will be based on malaria data from past surveys, population
censuses and satellite data and other sources.

At present, national reporting of malaria is highly inadequate and is
often based on best guesses, the researchers say.

"Resources for tackling malaria are driven by a mixture of perception
and politics rather than an objective assessment of need," Dr Simon
Hay, of the University of Oxford and the Kenya Medical Research
Institute told Reuters news agency.

"Clearly, this situation is untenable," he said.

No-one knows for sure how many people contract malaria and estimates
vary.

The World Health Organization puts the number at about 300 million
cases annually. About 90% of infections are in Africa.