The first global malaria map in decades shows a reduced risk. About 35 percent of the world’s population is in danger of contracting the disease, but many are at a lower risk than previously thought. This advancement gives hope that the disease may be reduce significantly or eliminated in some parts of the world.
The Malaria Atlas Project (MAP) found that 2.37 billion people are at risk of contracting malaria. More than 1 billion of that number are at a much lower risk of infection than was previously assumed.
The MAP effort is a collaboration between Oxford University and the Kenyan Medical Research Institute. The group compiled information from national health statistics, tourist advisories, climate, mosquito vectors and survey of infection in 5,000 communities in 87 countries.
About 1 million of the 500 million people that catch malaria yearly die, with 80 percent of those deaths occurring in children in sub-Saharan Africa.
You can view the Atlas online here.
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