(Image Source: BBC)

BY ORLA O MUIRI

Malaria elimination receives a devastating punch to its progress. A report published by medical publication The Lancet shows that the number of deaths by the disease are double what  previous figures show. BBC reports.

“New research suggests Malaria kills twice as many people globally as previously thought. The study was funded by the Bill Gates Foundation and published by the Lancet, it found that 1.2 million people died of the disease in 2010.”

The results also seem to suggest a commonly accepted belief to be false. redOrbit.com says:

“IMHE researchers said that deaths from malaria have been missed in previous studies because of the assumption that mainly young children under the age of 5 died from the disease.”

One of the authors of the study, Professor Christopher Murray, explains how this has been overlooked.

“Quite an appreciable number of adults die from Malaria. The risk of dying from Malaria is much lower for adults but there are a lot more adults and so it adds up. Its probably the most important finding we have in terms of magnitude.”

The study remains adamant that — despite the findings — the billions of dollars donated to the Malaria cause has had an effect in malaria reduction. The director of an anti-malaria advocacy group tells NPR not everyone is buying the new numbers.

"I would be very cautious (about the new estimates)... It is a dramatic increase from what the WHO says, and it contributes to the overall discussion, but it's unclear if it will lead to significant policy change.

Meanwhile the developing countries deal with the reality of the news and the disease. NTV reports the final word;

“Doctors here admit that malaria figures are just as elusive as the parasites themselves....Countries like Kenya remain far from burying the killer disease.”