Call for an instant quote 0345 90 80 161
Open Mon to Fri 09:00 - 17:30 | Sat 09:00 - 16:00 (GMT)
18 October 2012 09:37
Once humans contract malaria from a mosquito bite, they can act as a carrier if bitten by uninfected insects, which then spread it to other people
A study has shed new light on how malaria is transmitted via human hosts by monitoring the movement of millions of people in Kenya through their cellphones. The disease is responsible for the deaths of nearly a million people a year but can be successfully overcome with the right treatment, as was the case with its best-known recent victims, African footballers Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast and Lomana Lua Lua from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Malaria is usually associated with the bite of infected female mosquitoes - but once humans contract the disease, they can act as a carrier if they are bitten by uninfected insects, which then spread the disease to other people.
Researchers from Pennsylvania, United States, used data from the cellphones of nearly 15 million Kenyans and compared it with population distribution and malaria prevalence, to create, for the first time, a map of large-scale trends in the spread of the disease. The team, led by Amy Wesolowski at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, mapped every call or text to its local cellphone tower.
The results offered an explanation for malaria hotspots in Kenya's western highlands and the suburbs of Nairobi. In general, the researchers found that areas with the highest malaria risk contained the most-travelled people. This information also offers a timely reminder of the importance of pre-existing medical travel insurance for people travelling to and around Africa. The findings suggest merely controlling the mosquito population will not be enough to combat malaria and effort should also focus on transmission by humans.
28 September 2016
The English tourism industry is predicted to grow faster than the overall economy every year for the next decade, according to new research.
[more...]
27 September 2016
Monarch Airlines says its flights are operating as normal amid fears the firm is in financial trouble.
24 September 2016
Slim people who look physically healthy may still be at increased chance of being diagnosed with bowel cancer if they have raised insulin levels, according new research.
23 September 2016
Theresa May is being urged to give the go-ahead for flights to resume between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh by the head of the cross-party parliamentary group on Egypt.
22 September 2016
Budget airline Jet2.com is to open its first base in the south of England at Stansted.
21 September 2016
Smoking rates have dropped to the lowest level on record in England, new figures show, suggesting messages about the health effects of cigarettes are hitting home.
20 September 2016
Concerns have been raised over flight disruptions caused by heavy drinking among passengers.
17 September 2016
British Airways' decision to launch direct flights from London to Tehran earlier this month positions Iran as one of the hottest destinations to visit in 2017, according to experts.
16 September 2016
More than 100 flights have been cancelled as French air traffic controllers go on strike again.
15 September 2016
Two thirds of MPs would support an expansion at Heathrow.
14 September 2016
TripAdvisor is launching a new homepage, making the booking of holiday activities and tours even easier.
13 September 2016
Travellers are to be charged to use fast lanes to get through passport checks in an attempt to cut queues.