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Article: Killing malaria.
- Article from:
- World Watch
- Article date:
- May 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Worldwatch Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As early as the 16th century, B.C., Egyptian papyruses described symptoms like those of malaria, a disease researchers have been trying unsuccessfully to eliminate, or at least control, for hundreds of years. But for generation after generation, the parasite and the mosquito that carries it have proved resistant to drugs and pesticides.
Malaria is now the world's most prevalent disease, and one of the deadliest. At present, some 250 to 300 million people are infected with malaria parasites, and of the 110 million who develop the disease every year, about 2 million die. Half of those who die are children, often under the age of 5.
But despite this discouraging ...