Ineffective against malaria, one of Africa's biggest killers

By Ulrike Koltermann Nov 12, 2005, 9:38 GMT

Yaounde, Cameroon - Wilfred Mbacham bends over a half-full enamel water basin and examines hundreds of tiny insect larvae scattered across the surface.

'If we want to defeat the enemy we have to know it well,' says the doctor, who runs a centre in Cameroon researching methods to combat the spread of malaria.

The disease is the most common cause of death in young children in Africa. But outdated methods are still being used to halt its spread, even though it is one of the continent's biggest killers.

In contrast AIDS, which caused panic in western countries, has seen massive investment in research to combat its spread.

The fourth Pan African Malaria Conference will begin in Yaounde on November 13. Every year, between 2 million and 16 million people in Cameroon suffer from the disease.

Mbacham and his team are trying to develop a range of techniques to combat malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes.

'We are examining what attracts mosquitoes, what kills them, the diseases genetic make-up and what drugs can be used to cure it,' says Mbacham.

Malaria is a huge burden on Cameroon's economy. Nearly 60 per cent of all patients in the country's hospitals suffer from malaria, and about 25 per cent of all sick days in the country are due to the disease.

The government is pursuing a number of initiatives to halt its spread including giving pregnant women mosquito nets that have been paid for by donations and imported from Thailand.

Professor Mbacham is angry that anti-malaria drugs are still on sale in Cameroon against which the disease became resistant to a long time ago.

'The government says it wants to introduce a modern combination therapy but the drugs are too expensive,' he explains.

The old Chloroquine tablets cost about 15 cent per treatment. But more modern medicines that contain the powerful drug Artemisinin cost 8 euro (9.2 dollars). <!--page-->

Mbacham says the drug makers must reduce their prices so African countries can afford to tackle malaria.

There is another weapon along with mosquito nets and drugs in the anti-malaria arsenal but it is banned in Cameroon and many other African nations.

Spraying areas where mosquitoes live with the chemical DDT is an effective way to kill the insects.

In Europe, DDT brings back memories of fields poisoned with the chemical. But some scientists believe in small quantities DDT can safely be used in enclosed buildings.

However, efforts by the World Health Organization to promote DDT have met with resistance.

Scientists are also trying to develop an effective vaccine treatment but it is still in the early stages.

Progress is being made in other areas. Recently Mbacham and his team discovered a plant extract that can destroy a virus' ability to resist Chloroquine.

But compared to research into HIV-AIDS, anti-malaria treatment has received only scant resources.

'Malaria patients don't have a lobby,' says Mbacham. 'Either they die as young children or they get used to malaria attacks as adults.'

(Internet: Pan-African Malaria Conference: www.mim.su.se/conference2005/eng/overview.html)