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| Supplements 'reduce malaria toll' | Supplements 'reduce malaria toll' |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Cheap dietary supplements could protect young children from malaria, research suggests. | Cheap dietary supplements could protect young children from malaria, research suggests. |
| The study, published in Nutrition Journal, found giving children vitamin A and zinc cut incidence of illness by a third. | |
| Malaria remains a major killer in many parts of the world - in sub-Saharan Africa it is estimated to account for a million child deaths a year. | Malaria remains a major killer in many parts of the world - in sub-Saharan Africa it is estimated to account for a million child deaths a year. |
| Resistance to drug treatments is an increasing problem. | Resistance to drug treatments is an increasing problem. |
| And efforts to kill the infected mosquitoes that spread the disease have been hampered by the use of ineffective insecticides. | And efforts to kill the infected mosquitoes that spread the disease have been hampered by the use of ineffective insecticides. |
| Many people living in malaria endemic areas suffer from malnutrition so researchers in Burkina Faso experimented with adding vitamin A and zinc supplements to the diets of children aged from six months to six years. | Many people living in malaria endemic areas suffer from malnutrition so researchers in Burkina Faso experimented with adding vitamin A and zinc supplements to the diets of children aged from six months to six years. |
| Half of the children were given a placebo. After six months the scientists observed a 34% decrease in incidence of malaria in those children taking the supplements. | Half of the children were given a placebo. After six months the scientists observed a 34% decrease in incidence of malaria in those children taking the supplements. |
| Among those children who did catch the illness, those taking supplements were more resistant to the disease and suffered fewer fever episodes. | Among those children who did catch the illness, those taking supplements were more resistant to the disease and suffered fewer fever episodes. |
| The researchers, from Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, believe the combined supplements boosted the children's immune system, making them more naturally resistant to malaria. | |
| They believe the supplements could be an effective long term strategy to reduce the impact of malaria. | They believe the supplements could be an effective long term strategy to reduce the impact of malaria. |
| Caution required | |
| Dr Ron Behrens, an expert in tropical diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said zinc supplementation had also been shown to have a positive impact on respiratory disease and cholera. | |
| However, he said use of supplements might only work in communities with specific nutritional deficiencies - and those deficiencies might only exist at certain times of year. | |
| For instance, vitamin A deficiency was a problem in West Africa during the rainy season, but not when palm oil was in plentiful supply. | |
| Dr Behrens also warned that too much zinc could have a negative impact on the body's ability to make use of other minerals, such as copper and selenium. | |
| Vitamin A in excess had been shown to be toxic, he said, causing brain swelling and other complications. | |
| "Neither of these micro-nutrients is totally safe. They should be used like pharmaceuticals, and not seen as cure alls," he said. |