Malaria risk in the womb

Babies who are exposed to malaria in the womb could be more likely to contract the disease in childhood, a new study has found.

Researchers from the Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi indicated that babies can develop a tolerance to malaria so they will not recognise the parasite as foreign and their immune systems will not fight it.

Babies whose bodies had not responded to the malaria parasite were 60 per cent more likely to develop the disease during childhood than those who had not been exposed to malaria by the age of three.

Alex Wamachi, co-author of the study, told SciDev.Net that the body should usually be extremely hostile to any foreign parasites.

He added: "For now we are happy that at least we have identified a new piece of information. The greater challenge is what others or we can do with these findings."

The report, which was published in the journal PLoS Medicine, also revealed that the chances of developing anaemia in childhood also increase if exposure in the womb occurs.

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