Adnkronos Rome, 24 April (Adnkronos Salute) – On the occasion of World Malaria Day, the National Institute for Infectious Diseases 'L. Spallanzani' Irccs of Rome joins the campaign promoted by the World Health Organization to raise public awareness of one of the most widespread and serious infectious diseases in the world. According to the WHO, in 2023 over 200 million new cases and more than 600 thousand deaths were recorded, most of which involved children under 5 and pregnant women, of which over 95% in Sub-Saharan Africa.
"Malaria infection in Italy was declared eradicated in 1970, but Spallanzani has been committed for years to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of imported malaria from endemic countries. In recent years in Italy an annual average of about 800 cases of imported malaria has been estimated, some with serious complications and risk of death – underlines Emanuele Nicastri, director of the UOC High-Intensity Infectious Diseases – It is important to remember that a simple visit to one of the traveler's clinics, such as the one at our institute, can significantly reduce this risk. Since it is a vector-borne disease, prevention is based on simple measures such as the use of repellents, the use of long-sleeved shirts and long trousers, the reduction of environmental exposure from dusk to dawn, night rest under mosquito nets or in closed environments and pharmacological prophylaxis in high-risk areas".
Spallanzani, as a scientific research and treatment institute, is committed not only to assistance – a note recalls – but also to the promotion and coordination of national and international research studies, with the aim of improving the clinical management of malaria cases in non-endemic countries, and to the surveillance of resistance to the most commonly used antimalarial drugs.