POSSIBLE US-BRAZIL COOPERATION TO COMBAT MALARIA

UNCLAS LIBREVILLE 000222 SIPDIS SIPDIS BRASILIA FOR AMBASSADOR SOBEL; STATE FOR AF PDAS THOMAS-GREENFIELD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SOCI TBIO TP BR SUBJECT: POSSIBLE US-BRAZIL COOPERATION TO COMBAT MALARIA IN STP ¶1. (U) During a visit to Sao Tome and Principe (STP) last week, Ambassador Walkley met Manuel Innocencio de Lacerdo Santos, Brazil's ambassador in STP, to explore possible US-Brazilian cooperation in the fight against malaria. One focus of the conversation was an examination of Taiwan's anti-malaria program in STP. FYI: STP is a two-island nation with a population of approximately 160,000 (154,500 on Sao Tome, 5,500 on Principe). ¶2. (U) Taiwan started an anti-malaria program in STP in 2000, with a three-year series of pilot studies that indicated the best way to eradicate malaria would be through indoor residual spraying (IRS) with alphacypermethrin 50mg/m2. The IRS program began in 2005, with the plan to spray virtually every house on the two islands once a year for three years. The 2005 IRS program covered 93% of the population, the 2006 program 88% and the 2007 program so far 90%. There will be no mass sprayings after 2007 (to minimize the chance of insecticide resistance). ¶3. (U) The results have been dramatic. In the year before the spraying in 2004, there were 67,000 cases of malaria reported, 13,000 patients hospitalized and 300 deaths. After two rounds of spraying, the 2006 figures were 8,600 malaria cases, 1,700 hospitalized and 21 deaths. In late 2006, blood tests were done on virtually everyone on Principe; of the 5427 tests, only 57 were positive for malaria. With the treatment of those 57, there is the possibility of eradicating malaria on Principe. A similar mass screening of everyone on Sao Tome is planned for late 2007. Taiwan has been spending approximately one million dollars per year on the STP anti-malaria program. ¶4. (U) Later this year, Taiwan will send 60 people from STP to Taipei for training in quarantine issues and maintenance of the anti-malaria program. ¶5. (U) Given the success of Taiwan's program in STP, are there areas where US-Brazilian cooperation on malaria would be useful and not duplicative? Ambassadors Walkley and Santos are in agreement that there remain two areas where joint activities could be effective: the further training of personnel and the mapping of vectors. We recommend that a small US-Brazilian team of experts be sent to STP to draw up a specific program. (Santos indicates that the last Brazilian malaria team visit to STP was in 2004, before the Taiwanese began the spraying program.) 6.(U) Ambassador Santos will be sending to Brasilia a cable with recommendations similar to the ones in this message. WALKLEY