Philanthropist Bill Gates
says he wants to end malaria in his lifetime and will give more money toward
that goal, part of his broader fight against tropical diseases that are getting
unusual public attention because of the Ebola epidemic.
In an interview with The Associated Press and in prepared remarks
for a speech Sunday at a global health conference in New Orleans, the Microsoft
co-founder said his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation would increase its
malaria program budget by 30 per cent, to more than $200 million per year.
That’s on top of the foundation’s other donations to the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
“Small steps won’t get the job done,” and scientists don’t have
all the tools they need to eradicate malaria, Gates said.
His plan includes developing a drug or vaccine to purge the
malaria parasite in people who carry it without showing symptoms – a “human
reservoir” that helps spread the disease.
“If we commit to investing in all of these approaches, I
believe that we can eradicate malaria in the next generation,” Gates said. “Let
me put it this way – I just turned 59 the other day. If we can’t get rid of
malaria in my lifetime, I’d be very disappointed.”
Gates spoke at the annual meeting of the American Society of
Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, a conference that usually gets little public
notice, about diseases often referred to as “neglected.”
That is not the case this year. On Wednesday, Louisiana officials
created a stir by asking the 3,500 people registered for the conference to stay
away if they have been to certain West African countries or have had contact
with an Ebola patient in the last 21 days, the maximum incubation period for
Ebola.
Conference organizers called the stance an overreaction to Ebola
fears, and said it would prevent some scientists from presenting studies on the
outbreak, which has killed about 5,000 Africans this year.
In all, Gates said his foundation will commit more than $500 million
this year to fight malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal and parasitic diseases in
poor countries. Here are some he discussed.
EBOLA
The conference comes “at a critical moment in the history of
global health” because of the world’s largest outbreak of Ebola, Gates said. He
and his wife have pledged $50 million to help contain it and for research on
treatments, rapid tests and vaccines. Another Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen,
has pledged $100 million, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla
Chan, $25 million.
The global response to Ebola initially stumbled and revealed
flaws in our health systems, Gates said. Since then, some countries and groups
have helped, but much more is needed, he said.
MALARIA
It kills more than 600,000 people each year, mostly children in
Africa but also in Asia, Latin America and other areas.
It is caused by parasites spread through the bite of infected
mosquitoes. In areas where the disease is common, people can develop partial
immunity – they carry the parasite but don’t get sick, and mosquitoes who bite
them become infected and then spread the disease when they bite others.
Efforts to control the disease, such as bed nets to prevent
mosquito bites, must continue but “the only way to stop malaria is to end it
forever,” Gates said.
His plan includes $156 million over five years to the PATH
Malaria Vaccine Initiative to develop vaccines that prevent mosquitoes from
infecting people and vice versa.
Dr. Chris Plowe, a malaria expert at the University of
Maryland’s Center for Vaccine Development and incoming president of the
tropical medicine group, said targeting silent infection is key because “if you
want to eradicate or eliminate malaria, you have to get rid of all the parasites.”
The idea of ending malaria in 20 to 40 years “is faster than
most people expect,” but a good goal, Plowe said.
POLIO
Gates called polio eradication “my top priority,” noting the
viral disease remains endemic in three countries – Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He cited progress: Polio was eliminated in India earlier this year, and as of
early September, Nigeria had confirmed only six wild poliovirus cases this
year.
“There is now a real chance that we’ll soon get the polio case
count for the entire continent of Africa down to zero,” he said.
DENGUE FEVER
The mosquito-borne disease, also known as breakbone fever for
the pain it causes, has spread from a few countries a few decades ago to more
than 100 today, including the southern United States. An experimental vaccine
seems to prevent most severe disease and hospitalizations. Details of a major
study on it will be presented at the conference on Monday, and Gates said his
foundation would work to build on that work and make a vaccine available to all
who need it.
CHIKUNGUNYA
Another mosquito-borne disease, chikungunya causes fever and
extremely painful joints. It spread to the Caribbean last year after expanding
in Africa and South Asia, and in July, the first locally acquired case in the
U.S. was documented in Florida. It’s an important field for research and
vaccine development, Gates said.
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