Participants will receive close follow-up care, including a mammogram, physical exams and gynecological exams for at least seven years. This new study is important because it may lead to another option to help high-risk women. Bandiagara, a town of 10,000, is primarily populated by the Dogon people, who are known for their art and ancient culture based on the traditional animist belief that all of nature is alive. In the first two weeks I was out there, we saw 20 new cases of severe malaria and 60 non-severe cases. The death rate for untreated malaria is around 50 percent, he says.
Malaria is transmitted via mosquito bites.
With 500 million new cases worldwide each year and at least 2 million deaths, the disease is rivaled only by tuberculosis as a global killer. More than 90 percent of deaths each year occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Plowe and his colleagues will work with Bandiagara s traditional healers, who are important and respected members of the community. After two years of working together, we have a very good relationship with them. Dr. Doumbo already holds a grant from NIH for malaria research.