Effective Malaria Prevention Research Articles

Delayed Neuropsychiatric Effects of Malaria in Ghana

This study investigated the long-term emotional and cognitive effects of malaria infection in a sample of community resident nonmigratory Ghanaian adults, comparing 142 individuals with a documented history of clinical falciparum malaria and 30 controls without a lifetime medical diagnosis of malaria. Results were based on self-report inventory and interview-based approaches to assessment of emotional status as well as individual administration of the Mini-Mental State Examination. Our findings indicated the presence of an enduring, albeit subclinical, mixed anxiety-depression syndrome after medical recovery from falciparum malaria. There were, however, no significant neurocognitive deficits associated with malaria status on the objective screening instrument, nor were there reports of subjective attention, concentration, memory, or other cognitive complaints by self-report. Malaria may be a risk factor for psychiatric morbidity. We therefore recommend a search for effective malaria prevention and intervention strategies to avert the more serious clinical manifestations of mental disorder likely to evolve in this imminently lethal infectious disease.

MALARIA: Principles of Prevention and Treatment

In the United States, effective malaria prevention strategies for short-term travelers are available. Monitoring trends in imported malaria and continued evaluation of the effectiveness and chemoprophylaxis will allow prevention recommendations to evolve as the risk of infection and effectiveness of antimalarial drugs change. Our challenge is to increase the number of prospective travelers receiving pre-travel advice, to disseminate this information to health care providers, and to improve the quality of the advice given. The early recognition of Plasmodium infection and the institution of prompt and effective treatment will reduce morbidity and mortality from malaria in this country.