Don’t Treat Malaria Without Testing First – Health Expert Warns

Professor Kwadwo Ansah Koram, a prominent malaria expert and former Director of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), has stressed the importance of testing for malaria before initiating treatment.

Although the national policy mandates testing before treatment, he noted that many individuals still proceed with treatment without testing, which he warned undermines Ghana’s malaria eradication efforts.

At the fourth lecture of NMIMR’s 45th-anniversary celebration, themed “45 Years of Impactful Research for Sustainable Global Health”, Prof. Koram discussed “Malaria Research and Impact in Ghana”.

With nearly 30 years of experience in malaria epidemiology and public health, he highlighted that testing before treatment enables accurate diagnosis, facilitating the national elimination strategy of “test, treat, and track.”

“In fact, it’s test, treat and track. So after treatment, we also check whether we have been able to clear the parasite. And if the parasite is not gone, why is it not gone? Basically, that’s what the elimination programme now is recommending.”

This approach includes post-treatment tracking to confirm if the malaria parasite is effectively cleared.

Prof. Koram praised the progress made in Ghana’s malaria elimination efforts, particularly the increased use of bed nets, new anti-malarial drugs, and insecticide spraying.

He advised the public to reduce mosquito breeding sites around their homes and encouraged young researchers to further investigate various aspects of malaria, such as mosquito behavior.

Highlighting NMIMR’s contributions, acting Director Professor Michael Ofori reflected on the institute’s foundational role in malaria research and control in Ghana.

The institute, established in 1979 with Japanese support in honour of Dr. Hideyo Noguchi, is Ghana’s premier biomedical research facility, renowned for its ongoing efforts in disease control and management.

Story by Adwoa S. Danso