The global distribution and population at risk of malaria: past, present, and future

Abstract

The aim of this review was to use geographic information systems in combination with historical maps to quantify the anthropogenic impact on the distribution of malaria in the 20th century. The nature of the cartographic record enabled global and regional patterns in the spatial limits of malaria to be investigated at six intervals between 1900 and 2002. Contemporaneous population surfaces also allowed changes in the numbers of people living in areas of malaria risk to be quantified. These data showed that during the past century, despite human activities reducing by half the land area supporting malaria, demographic changes resulted in a 2 billion increase in the total population exposed to malaria risk. Furthermore, stratifying the present day malaria extent by endemicity class and examining regional differences highlighted that nearly 1 billion people are exposed to hypoendemic and mesoendemic malaria in southeast Asia. We further concluded that some distortion in estimates of the regional distribution of malaria burden could have resulted from different methods used to calculate burden in Africa. Crude estimates of the national prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum infection based on endemicity maps corroborate these assertions. Finally, population projections for 2010 were used to investigate the potential effect of future demographic changes. These indicated that although population growth will not substantially change the regional distribution of people at malaria risk, around 400 million births will occur within the boundary of current distribution of malaria by 2010: the date by which the Roll Back Malaria initiative is challenged to halve the world's malaria burden.

Immunomodulatory effects of recombinant BCG expressing MSP-1C ofPlasmodium falciparumon LPS- or LPS+IFN-γ-stimulated J774A.1 cells

“…1,2 Various intervention and eradication programs have been implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), but the prevalence of malaria is increasing, especially in young children. This problem might be due to various possible contributing factors such as genetic diversity, 3,4 the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains 2,[5][6][7] and environmental factors, including climate change. 8,9 Knowledge regarding the mechanisms by which malaria parasites are eliminated by the host immune system is still not fully understand and sometimes controversial.…”

A closer look at multiple-clone Plasmodium vivax infections: detection methods, prevalence and consequences

“…Plasmodium vivax is the most widespread human malaria parasite, causing an estimated 132-391 million episodes of disease each year (Hay et al 2004), with 2.6 billion people at risk of infection worldwide (Guerra et al 2006). Outside of Africa, P. vivax is the main cause of malaria morbidity, with an enormous, but largely overlooked, public health burden.…”

Rôle de l’histamine et des récepteurs histaminiques dans la pathogenèse du paludisme

“…La maladie présente une répartition géographique qui touche principalement les zones tropicales défavorisées d'Afrique, d'Asie et d'Amérique latine. La plupart des cas et des décès surviennent en Afrique subsaharienne avec 2 millions de décès par an dont 75 % d'enfants de moins de 5 ans [1,2]. La France est la nation européenne qui recense le plus de cas de paludisme d'importation (6 500-7 000/an) par rapport aux pays de démographies comparables tels que le Royaume-Uni, l'Allemagne, l'Italie, l'Espagne, les Pays-Bas et la Suisse.…”