Southern Africa: WHO warns of high levels of malaria
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is warning of the possibility of above average malaria transmission levels in the region this season prompted by unusually high wet conditions because of the climate phenomenon called La Niña.
Insecticide treated nets have helped to bring down the number of malaria cases (Image: UNICEF)
"Malaria is a climate sensitive disease and for this time of the year we have experienced uncommonly heavy rainfall and flooding in parts of southern Africa," said Joaquim Da Silva, WHO's Malaria Epidemics & Emergency Officer in the region.
La Niña is characterised by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, recorded every three to four years, which causes a ripple effect felt across the globe, making wet regions wetter and dry ones even drier.