Blood product saves children with malaria
Children suffering from severe malaria stand a far better chance of survival if they are given an immediate infusion of the blood by-product, albumin, new research has shown.
Malaria claims the lives of at least one million children in Africa every year and most of these die as a result of complications brought on by the mosquito-borne disease before treatment can take begin to take effect.
A study, carried out over 18 months at Kilifi General Hospital in Kenya, by Dr Kathryn Maitland and colleagues, Professor Mike Levin and Dr Charles Newton, has shown the apparent benefits of albumin treatment.