Malaria cases have significantly increased in 13 countries, according to the World Health Organization’s 2018 World Malaria Report—and experts say that more work is needed to prevent the disease from further rebounding.
The WHO report found that global malaria cases rose from 217 million in 2016 to 219 million in 2017, according to a November 19, 2018 CNN article. Prior to 2015, worldwide malaria rates had been falling. Ten countries in Africa with a high burden of malaria saw significant increases, as did several countries in the Americas, including Brazil, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
Some countries had declining malaria rates, such as India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. Experts said those countries worked hard to reach marginalized populations with resources such as bed nets and antimalarial medications.
Dyann Wirth, professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told CNN that malaria reduction strategies need to be rethought. “If we just keep doing the same thing, we risk having a significant rebound,” she said.
Read the CNN article: Malaria on the rise in more than 13 countries, experts warn
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