After years of progress in reducing malaria cases, Rwanda is confronting a surprising resurgence and signs of treatment resistance that have forced officials to revisit vaccine intervention the country once declined.<\/p>\n
Rwanda had recorded steady declines in malaria infections for nearly a decade, with cases falling from nearly five million\u00a0in 2016,\u00a0to just 430,000 in 2023 \u2014 about a 90 per cent reduction \u2014 according to figures from the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC).<\/p>\n
But these gains are now under threat, says Aimable Mbituyumuremyi, division manager for malaria and other parasitic diseases at the RBC, Rwanda\u2019s health implementation agency.<\/p>\n
In 2024, malaria cases rose by more than 45 per cent in one year, reaching 620,000.<\/p>\n
Rwanda had previously opted out of receiving malaria vaccines during the first phase of distribution by the World Health Organization (WHO) and GAVI in 2023, confident in its consistent progress in reducing malaria over the last decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut now, we\u2019re experiencing a surge in the disease,\u201d Mbituyumuremyi said in an interview with\u00a0SciDev.Net.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re considering using vaccines since all other measures have yet to work and malaria cases are increasing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rise in cases began unexpectedly in January 2024, a time when malaria incidence usually declines, according to Mbituyumuremyi.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the first time we have experienced an increase in malaria cases in Rwanda since 2016.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re alarmed that it\u2019s not just a slight increment, but a significant one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aimable Mbituyumuremyi, division manager for malaria and other parasitic diseases at the RBC<\/p>\n
According to Mbituyumuremyi, the number of annual deaths fell from 650 in 2016 to 67 in 2023, and more than two dozen districts entered the malaria pre-elimination phase.<\/p>\n
He said between January and October 2024, the country recorded 620,000 malaria cases, an increase of nearly 200,000 compared to the same period in 2023.<\/p>\n
October alone accounted for 112,000 of those cases, with almost 90 per cent of them (about 100,000) concentrated in just 15 of Rwanda\u2019s 30 districts.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this time, we never expected such a burden because we were in the pre-elimination phase,\u201d Mbituyumuremyi explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe anticipated a progressive decrease, not even a slight increase.\u201d<\/p>\n
So far 17 African countries have rolled out the malaria vaccine with support from the World Health Organization and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow, we would like that consideration to be extended to us as well,\u201d Mbituyumuremyi \u00a0added, referring to the distribution of vaccines.<\/p>\n
Rwanda\u2019s malaria resurgence comes despite investments in most malaria-prone districts.<\/p>\n
Mbituyumuremyi tells\u00a0SciDev.Net\u00a0that Rwanda has invested heavily in existing control strategies, such as indoor residual spraying and mosquito net distribution.<\/p>\n
He says the country has spent more than US$1.5 million per district on indoor spraying in a dozen districts.<\/p>\n
Drug resistance<\/p>\n
The RBC says several factors have contributed to the new surge in cases. These include growing mosquito resistance to drugs, shifting mosquito behaviour, and environmental changes that increase breeding sites.<\/p>\n
Preliminary data shown to\u00a0SciDev.Net\u00a0by the RBC indicates that the effectiveness of the artemisinin drug is diminishing due to resistance.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Mbituyumuremyi says mosquitoes are increasingly biting outdoors rather than indoors, raising the risk for people spending time outside at night.<\/p>\n
Mbituyumuremyi also expressed concerns over the possible spread of the disease between countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreliminary investigations indicate that nearly all the most affected sectors are in the cross-border communities of Nyagatare, Gisagara, and Bugesera,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
To combat drug resistance, Rwanda has started using alternative treatments.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the end of last year, we have been receiving new anti-malaria drugs. While Coartem is being used less frequently, it has not been completely phased out. We are implementing a multiple first-line treatment strategy,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Despite the setback, Rwanda still aims to be malaria-free by 2030.<\/p>\n
Health officials are re-evaluating the country\u2019s strategy, including the possible adoption of vaccines as part of a broader response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After years of progress in reducing malaria cases, Rwanda is confronting a surprising resurgence and signs of treatment…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":145871,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[64,63,1730,137,20738,9887,4886],"class_list":{"0":"post-145870","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-drugs","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-malaria","13":"tag-mosquito","14":"tag-vaccine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145870"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145870\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}