WHO Tweeted About Guidelines For Malaria Chemoprevention and Mass Drug Administration
By Nmami Agarwal 10-Jun 2022 Reading Time: 3 Mins
The World Health Organisation published in the consolidated guidelines for malaria a package of new and updated recommendations across a number of technical areas – from malaria chemoprevention and mass drug administration to elimination. The guidelines encourage countries to tailor the recommendations to local disease settings for maximum impact.
Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (ITPp)
Malaria infection during pregnancy poses substantial risks not only to the mother but also to her fetus and the newborn. Available evidence continues to show that intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is a safe and highly cost-effective strategy for reducing the disease burden in pregnancy as well as adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes.
In updated guidance published today, WHO has reaffirmed its strong recommendation for the use of IPTp-SP in areas of moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission. The recommendation does not limit the delivery of IPT-SP to antenatal care (ANC) settings; where inequities in access to ANC services exist, other delivery methods, such as the use of community health workers, may be explored. IPT-SP is now recommended for all pregnant women, regardless of the number of pregnancies; previously, it was recommended only during a woman’s first and second pregnancies.
- WHO has also updated its recommendations for 2 key malaria chemoprevention strategies: seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) and perennial malaria chemoprevention (PMC – previously known as an intermittent preventive treatment in infants, or IPTi). When given to young children, malaria chemoprevention has been shown to be a safe, effective, and cost-effective strategy for reducing the disease burden and saving lives.
- WHO is issuing today a recommendation in favor of post-discharge malaria chemoprevention (PDMC). This is a strategy aimed at preventing malaria among children with severe anemia living in areas of moderate-to-high transmission after they are discharged from a hospital when they are at high risk of re-admission or death. Through PDMC, children are given a full antimalarial treatment course at regular intervals.
- WHO has also issued new guidance on mass drug administration (MDA), another chemoprevention strategy. Through MDA, all individuals in a target population are given a treatment course of antimalarial drugs, regardless of whether they are infected with malaria. The medication treats any existing malaria infections as well as new infections for a specific period of time.
Over To You:
These guidelines help provide recommendations for countries from malaria chemoprevention & mass drug administration to end malaria.