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Malaria has plagued
mankind throughout history, and it remains today the world's most
widespread and prevalent vector-borne disease. Over one billion people
live in malarial areas of the world, and the total worldwide prevalence
is currently estimated at almost 500 million. Deaths directly
attributed to malaria are estimated at between one and three million per
year. These deaths are mainly in children, but adults who have not been
previously exposed, such as deployed troops, are also at increased risk
of contracting the more serious and fatal forms of the disease. Plasmodium
vivax, prevalent in Southeast Asia, has emerged as the primary
tropical disease threat for deployed U.S. troops in the past 20 years.
Temporary reductions
in the threat of malaria have come about both through the development of
drugs for prevention and treatment and through the use of insecticides
for mosquito control. However, drug resistance of the causative
organism, Plasmodium, was
Malaria
diagnostics study, Mae Sod, Tak, Thailand. |
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Anopheles dirus,
the primary mosquito vector of malaria in Southeast Asia.
first
identified in Southeast Asia over 20 years ago. Since then, resistance to
other drugs has continued to emerge, and multiple drug resistant strains
have been identified. Additionally, mosquitoes have become resistant to
the insecticides used to control them in many parts of the world. With
vector insecticide resistance and parasite drug resistance increasing in
all malarial regions, new drugs and control measures are urgently needed.
The development of an effective antimalarial vaccine is a Department of
Defense priority.
Bangladeshi
Army and AFRIMS physicians confer during a consultative trip to evaluate a
malaria outbreak, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
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