Malaria in KwaZulu Natal

QUESTION

How many people are infected by malaria in KZN?

ANSWER

By “KNZ” I assume you mean KwaZulu Natal (for the benefit of other readers, this is a region of South Africa, in the north-eastern portion of the country). KZN is one of the few parts of South Africa that experiences malaria transmission, though effective control measures have reduced its impact as a public health threat.

Up until 1996, South African policy had been to use DDT (even though it was a banned substance) to control mosquito populations, and malaria levels had correspondingly been low. However, after cessation of spraying with DDT, the number of malaria cases increased, to a high of over 40,000 cases in the 1999/2000 malaria season (in KZN, malaria is most commonly transmitted during the wet summer months, from November to May). Since then, the use of DDT as an insecticide has been reintroduced (along with other public health measures, such as switching to artemisinin-based combination therapies for first-line malaria treatment), and the burden of malaria has plummeted.

The most recent data I could find reported less than 3500 cases for the 2001/2002 malaria season, and zero cases in 2002/2003 (though the data I found were only up to February 2003). Efforts to coordinate malaria control between South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland have also contributed to the success of reducing malaria transmission in the region.