Encouraging first results of mosquito spraying in Nkhoma, Malawi

Last fall, Nkoma Hospital, in Malawi sponsored a campaign to reduce the mosquito population in the area and lower the alarming number of malaria cases, particularly in children. Nkoma is one of the hospitals of our partner, the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP). The campaign included spraying the doors and walls of homes in ten villages of the Nkoma community with a special insecticide. People from each village were given special training for the job. The spraying was in addition to the use of bed nets recommended by Nkoma Hospital.

Now the evaluation of the first spraying in the campaign has been completed, showing an encouraging reduction in rates of malaria infection in the Nkoma community. The number of malaria cases in the community has been reduced from 841 before the spraying campaign to 635.

Besides rates of infection, the evaluation assessed the prevalence of anemia, the density of mosquitos, and antibody levels in the community. Children in the Nkoma community below the age of 5 who had no incidence of malaria nor treatment for the disease in the past 30 days were eligible for the evaluation study.
The study showed that 27% of children under five were infected in villages that were not sprayed, while 13% of children under five were infected in villages in the spraying campaign. A reduction in anemia was also noted.

For maximum effectiveness, the next phase of the spraying will be postponed for two months until the mosquito population is at its peak.

Africa accounts for 90 percent of deaths from malaria and African children account for more than 80 percent of malaria deaths worldwide. With the increase in antimalarial measures by government and church-sponsored agencies like the CCAP, those figures are being reduced. The latest figures as noted in allafrica.com estimate that malaria deaths among children in Africa have dropped from about 3,000 per day to about 2,000 per day.