Malaria mortality in children under the age of five years in sub-Saharan Africa may be higher than previously estimated. (Photo: Joachim Pelikan/Swiss TPH)
Previous studies analysing malaria mortality in sub-Saharan Africa may have underestimated the burden caused by this mosquito-borne disease. A study by Swiss TPH researchers found that when taking into account indirect causes of death such as anaemia, the risk of death from malaria was up to 3.5 times higher. Hence, the team proposes a novel indicator to more accurately estimate malaria-related mortality in children under five. The results were published yesterday in the Nature research journal Scientific Reports. To estimate the number of deaths caused by malaria, different methods and data sources have been utilised. Most studies to date, however, have not taken into account indirect deaths from malaria such as anaemia. Studies also mainly used malaria parasite prevalence as a key measure, which is not directly linked to severe malaria and thus death.
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