BY KATAMU EDDY NEDINANI
Doctors are attributing malaria-related deaths in children to kidney complications.
According to records from the Ministry of Health, more than 50 percent of the children that develop Acute Kidney Injury –AKI die due to being undiagnosed. The complication refers to a condition where the Kidney stops being able to filter waste from the blood.
It occurs when the malaria parasites damage the red blood cells which leads to the formation of clumps or rosettes which in turn impair the circulation of blood and injure the kidneys in doing so.
The condition is common among children who develop severe malaria. Dr. Jimmy Opigo, the Commissioner of Malaria Control Program attributes the high number of AKI cases to the failure of parents to complete malaria treatment or lack of treatment.
Findings from a 2018 study to ascertain the prevalence of AKI in Kampala and Jinja, 45.3 percent of children with severe malaria developed AKI. This is a 10.6 percent increase compared to the figures for the period 2008-2013.
On average, 42 children succumb to malaria daily in the country according to figures from the Ministry of Health, translating to 15,000 deaths annually.
