By Swift Reporter
Health Minister Dr. Chris Baryomunsi has told Parliament that pregnant women and people who consume beer are among the groups that are more likely to attract mosquitoes, as he urged Ugandans to strengthen malaria prevention measures amid growing concern over the disease.
Presenting a ministerial statement on Uganda’s malaria situation on Wednesday, Baryomunsi explained that scientific studies have identified several factors that make some individuals more attractive to mosquitoes than others.
“Pregnant women and people who consume beer are among those who tend to attract mosquitoes more,” the minister told lawmakers during a debate on the country’s malaria burden.
His remarks came as Parliament discussed recent malaria-related deaths and rising infections, particularly among school-going children.
The statement follows the Ministry of Health’s confirmation that four students from three schools in Kampala died from severe malaria.
The deceased included two students from Makerere College School, one from Mengo Senior School and another from Gayaza High School.
The deaths triggered concern among parents and legislators, with some fearing that a new, more dangerous malaria strain could be circulating in the country.
However, Dr. Baryomunsi dismissed the speculation, assuring Parliament that Uganda’s surveillance systems have found no evidence of a new malaria parasite.
“On behalf of the Ministry of Health, I extend our deepest condolences to the families, guardians, school communities and fellow learners of the four learners who have lost their lives. No parent should send a child to school and receive news of this nature,” he said.
The minister explained that the fatalities were confined to the Kampala Metropolitan Area, which has traditionally experienced low malaria transmission, and should not be interpreted as a nationwide increase in severe malaria among school-going children.
He said Uganda continues to conduct routine genomic surveillance of malaria parasites, which has consistently shown that Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite responsible for approximately 97 percent of malaria infections in the country has remained unchanged for decades.
“Uganda routinely conducts genomic surveillance on circulating malaria parasites. This surveillance has not detected any change in the parasites currently circulating in the country,” Baryomunsi said.
He added that the same malaria parasite responsible for infections over the years caused the deaths of the four learners.
“What has killed these learners is the same parasite that ordinarily causes malaria. It is not a new strain,” he emphasized.
According to the minister, the deaths were largely linked to low immunity among children raised in areas with minimal malaria transmission, such as Kampala.
He explained that unlike children in high-transmission districts who gradually develop some natural immunity through repeated exposure, many children in Kampala remain immunologically vulnerable.
“An immunologically naïve child can progress from the first symptoms to severe malaria, including cerebral malaria and severe anaemia, within 24 hours, and from severe malaria to death within two hours if emergency treatment is not accessed in time,” he warned.
In response to the deaths, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education have established a joint task force to investigate the incidents and assess the burden of malaria among school-going children.
Government has also launched confidential investigations at the affected schools, issued updated malaria prevention and case management guidelines to schools nationwide, revived school health reporting systems, and begun deploying nurses and other health workers to government schools.
Authorities are also strengthening emergency referral systems to ensure learners with severe malaria receive timely treatment.
The ministry has urged parents, teachers and health workers to remain vigilant and seek immediate medical attention for children showing symptoms such as high fever, persistent vomiting, convulsions, confusion or difficulty breathing, warning that severe malaria can become fatal within hours if treatment is delayed.
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