New malaria strains are deadly killers

Press, 16 February 1982, Page 18

New malaria strains are deadly killers

By

ALASTAIR MATHESON

in Nairobi

. Malaria, for so long the scourge of the tropics, is not only making a dramatic comeback in at least 100 countries in the Third World, but is appearing in new and deadlier forms that are resistant to ordinary anti-malarial drugs. Their victims are chiefly young children and pregnant women. The speed at which the new strains can kill was highlighted recently by the death of the young- daughter of a Ugandan Cabinet Minister. After developing a high fever whe was rushed to a Kampala hospital where a team, of Cuban doctors tried to save her life. When they found they could not check the rapid deterioration in her condition they took her to some Russian medical colleagues. Despite desperate efforts to save her life, the Minister’s daughter was dead in less than 24 hours after developing the fever.

The newer strains, which have a far higher fatality rate than the older ones, are believed responsible for the death of 1 million African children. •The former strains would lie . dormant in’the liver for years. . causing recurrent bouts at in-

tervals which would be aeointating to most victims but seldom fatal. By contrast, the newer strains invade the red blood cells, causing total congestion in internal organs which brings about rapid death. Experts monitoring . the rapidly-escalating problem have warned the United Nations . Environment Programme, which has its world headquarters in - Kenya, that these new strains of "malaria could become the gravest health hazard in the Third World in the next decade.

Many scientists believe that the massive use of chemicals, including DDT. to kill crop pests as well as disease-carry-ing insects, is responsible for the emergence of drug-resis-tant strains of malaria- parasites. This has been denied by both World Health Organisation (W:H.O.) officials and the Food and Agricultural Organisation.

A team of American scientists is now trying to develop a vaccine to give permanent immunity against the disease, but the work is still at an experimental stage. The vaccine is based on the use of salivary

glands taken from the female malaria-carrying anopheles mosquito.

The team, working in the laboratories at New York University. does not expect to produce a vaccine that will provide immunity for all types of malaria, but "hopes that it can protect people from one or two strains. This will be a step towards evolyirig a universal anti-malarial ' vaccine which will .be as effective as those developed against smallpox and polio. During the 19605, W.H.O. hadhoped to completely eradicate malaria. The campaign was moderately successful:.malaria ceased to be regarded as a major health hazard, and pre-, cautions were soon relaxed.

In the 19705. however,' the number of malaria victims began to rise steeply again, not only in Africa 'buri throughoutri the tropics. Between 1972 and--1976, the number of cases actually doubled and in 1977-78 there were 800 million infections world wide and more than one million deaths from malaria.—Copyright, London Observer Service. /