Malaria Special - Main news page

The Malaria Business

By the time you have read the first article on this page, six children in sub-Saharan Africa will have died of malaria, and 1,800 people worldwide will have started to show clinical symptoms of the disease.

New, effective anti-malarial drugs are not available to those who need them and only a small proportion of children at risk are protected by insecticide treated nets.

In a 13-part series, swissinfo takes a look at the burden of the disease and the ways in which it can be controlled.

THE IMPACT

	Malaria: the killer disease Four-year-old Chelsea lies unconscious in the intensive care ward of St Francis’ Hospital in Ifakara, Tanzania.


	Bed net project slashes malaria rates Billboards, t-shirts and logos on buses publicised the campaign. At community meetings, local drama groups played up the benefits.


	Separating facts from figures Counting the number of malaria cases worldwide is more guesswork than science.


	Factory shows net gains A chance conversation over a drink led Anthony Haji to become one of Tanzania’s leading mosquito net manufacturers.

Winner of 2003 European Online Journalism Awards

With this web special, swissinfo journalist, Vincent Landon, was named Internet Journalist of the Year. The special also won the science category.

Winner of 2004 Prix Italia for Web Programmes

Another prize for the Malaria Special, the Prix Italia 2004 prize for Web Programmes / Special Content.

TREATMENTS


		Spreading the net In April 2000, African heads of state met in Abuja, Nigeria, and endorsed a far-reaching plan to roll back malaria in Africa.
		Anopheles gambiae - the malaria machine Head down, body at an angle, hind legs raised. This is not an advanced yoga class but the distinct posture of the anopheles mosquito when resting or biting.
		A day in the host of a malaria parasite Ingenious, formidable and pernicious. These are just some of the words that are used to describe the deadliest of the malaria parasites, plasmodium falciparum.
		Drug resistance causes concern Resistance to cheap and effective drugs poses one of the greatest threats to malaria control.
		Drug companies return to the fray New ways of funding drug development have galvanised the search for malaria treatments.
		Vaccines – a triumph of hope over delivery For the past 50 years, the search for a vaccine has been the holy grail of malaria research.
		DDT: From miracle chemical to banned pollutant In the late 1930s, Paul Müller, a research chemist at the firm of Geigy in Basel was searching for an insecticide to kill clothes moths.
		Malaria travels back to Europe It is less than 30 years since endemic malaria was finally eradicated in western Europe.
		Malaria: what the future holds Last year to great acclaim, scientists cracked the genetic codes of both the deadliest malaria parasite and the mosquito that spreads it.

INTERACTIVE

Download the malaria lifecycle interactive (windows)

Download the malaria lifecycle interactive (mac)

MULTIMEDIA

	"It's just a mosquito factory."
	"We could be looking at saving 30,000 infants a year."
	"Blue is our best seller."
	"Treated mosquito nets could save about 30,000 lives a year."
	"To change to new drugs ... would cost a huge amount."
	Battling malaria in Tanzania (Broadband version)
	Battling malaria in Tanzania (56K Modem/ISDN version)
	Using nets to protect against malaria in Tanzania (Broadband)
	Using nets to protect against malaria in Tanzania (56K Modem/ISDN version)
	Drugs and chemicals to combat malaria (Broadband version)
	Drugs and chemicals to combat malaria (56K Modem/ISDN version)