Malaria risks in Nairobi

When Nairobi became the national capital malaria was a significant public health problem with epidemics documented in 1926, 1935 and 1940. Anopheles gambiae and An. funestus have been indentified within the city limits and a study in 2009 of 1333 school children identified an infection prevalence of 5.5%. There remains controversy over the extent of malaria transmission and its clinical consequences within Nairobi city. Despite this, in 2001 malaria was the second highest disease diagnosed among attendees to outpatient clinics and represented 10.6% of all diagnoses in the municipality during that year. Between 2010 and 2013 we will undertake a more systematic epidemiological and clinical investigation of autochthonous transmission and the extent of over-diagnosis within the public and private health sectors in Nairobi. This work will support a more informed strategy for urban malaria prevention and disease management in a city that is home to 5-6 million people.