By SARAH OOKO
Malaria is among the leading causes of disease-related suffering and death in Kenya.
It affects 19.4 percent of the population based on the 2019 Economic Survey.
The most affected are usually and children below the age of five and pregnant women due to their low immunity.
For those diagnosed with the disease, treatment with recommended drugs — known as artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) — are paramount to effectively manage the disease and prevent adverse outcomes including death.
Though the drugs are effective at tackling the disease, research now shows that they may be underperforming in severely malnourished children.
Yet, malnutrition is common among children in Kenya’s malaria hotspots due to high poverty levels afflicting most families.
A new study published in the Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Journal has found that severe malnutrition is associated with lower exposure to a type of ACT malaria drug known as artemether-lumefantrine (coartem) among children.
This is the most common treatment for uncomplicated malaria caused by parasites known as Plasmodium Falciparum that is predominant in Kenya. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the therapy…Read more>>
