Malaria-HIV co-infections wracking Africa
HIV and malaria are fuelling each other's rise in Africa
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Friday, 08, Dec 2006 02:08
Rapidly increasing levels of HIV and malaria in sub-Saharan Africa have been attributed to the effect that the two diseases have upon each other.
Researchers claim that a substantial overlap exists between sufferers of both diseases, with malaria fuelling the rise of HIV and vice versa.
The scientists from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre and the University of Washington, publishing their findings in the journal Science, say that malaria sufferers are ten times more likely to pass on the HIV virus to sexual partners, while the immune system deficiency associated with Aids means that people are much more susceptible to malaria to begin with.
Co-author Laith Abu-Raddad today said: "While HIV-Aids is predominantly spreading through sexual intercourse, this biological co-factor induced by malaria has contributed considerably to the spread of HIV by increasing HIV transmission probability per sexual act."
Another of the study's co-authors, James Kublin, further explained his colleague's comments by adding: "In turn, the weakening of the immune system by HIV infection has fuelled a rise in adult malaria-infection rates and may have facilitated the expansion of malaria in Africa."
The researchers arrived at their findings after studying data regarding malaria and HIV sufferers in Malawi and Kenya.
They conclude that at least tens of thousands of HIV cases and millions of malaria cases have been directly caused because of the relationship between the two disease, attributing five per cent of Africans suffering from the effects of HIV to malaria.
"As long as HIV-Aids continues to spread, it will aggravate the difficulties we face with these other diseases and may contribute to the emergence of more lethal or drug-resistant strains of these infections," Dr Kublin concluded.