Nearly 300 killed in malaria epidemic

The Kenyan authorities have given details of an outbreak of highland malaria, which has killed a total of 294 people since June. In a statement issued on Thursday, the government said it had purchased and dispatched anti-malarial drugs, costing approximately US $500,000, to affected districts. In the statement, Medical Services Minister Hussein Maalim Mohammed said at least eight districts, which lie in the malaria transmission belt in the country's Rift Valley and Nyanza provinces, had been severely affected by the epidemic. A total of 158,292 cases have been reported since June. He listed the most affected districts as Nandi, Kericho, Uasin Gishu, Trans Nzoia and Kisii. According to the minister, the affected districts lie in an "unstable malaria transmission" zone. "The malaria epidemic has been precipitated by heavy rains that have been witnessed in the recent past in the region, which have favoured increased malaria transmission," Mohammed said. "Communities living in these regions are not commonly exposed to malaria infection and at times of increased malaria transmission, all age groups are affected - hence the explosive number of cases being recorded." An epidemic response task force has been set up at both the central and district levels. Earlier in the week, the government sent out an appeal to donors to provide technical and material support to help curb the epidemic. So far, favourable responses have been received from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Red Cross Society, Mohammed said. Press reports have carried criticism of the government's response saying it was "too late". "The government is talking of vector control after the epidemic has already hit...Vector control is a preventive measure that should be maintained at all times," said a medical researcher at the Kenya Medical Research Institute, according to the 'Daily Nation'. Mohammed said the current malaria policy - based on WHO's 'Roll Back Malaria' global initiative - was still effective, but the ministry was still looking for resources to "scale up" its implementation.