IPTi &Nutrition Bill Brieger | 08 Dec 2007 04:20 pm
Better Nutritional Status through Malaria Prevention
Researchers in Senegal studied the effect of intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) of malaria for children during the malaria transmission season in that country and found that, “The prevention of malaria would improve child nutritional status in areas with seasonal transmission.” In particular mean weight gain was significantly better for those receiving IPT.
These researchers also note that similar positive results have been observed in other malaria prevention research efforts in the Gambia and Tanzania. The Tanzania work included ITNs in addition to IPT.
A basic child health monitoring tool, the Road to Health Chart, comes to mind. The guidance with the charts was usually to suspect illness, such as diarrhoeal diseases and TB should a child’s weight remain static or decrease between clinic visits. It is encouraging to know that we can also improve overall child nutritional status through malaria prevention. More work is needed to document these effects of preventive interventions in areas with year-round malaria transmission. Such results also add to the economic benefits arguments for malaria control as children with better nutritional status will hopefully grow into more productive adults.