Malaria hospitalisations among children in Kilifi have dropped to close to zero, according to research reported by standardmedia.co.ke on Tuesday.
The outlet says the findings show a sharp decline in the number of children admitted to hospital with the disease in the coastal Kenyan county.
The report did not include the number of cases recorded before the fall, the period covered by the research, or the institutions behind the work.
Malaria remains a leading cause of illness and death among young children in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and hospital admissions have long been used as a measure of how heavily the disease is affecting a community.
Kilifi, on Kenya's coast, has been the site of sustained malaria research and control efforts over the years, and the near-zero admission figure reported by standardmedia.co.ke points to a substantial change in that local picture.
What the report does not yet establish is why admissions fell. Possible explanations — such as expanded prevention measures, changes in treatment or referral patterns, or shifts in how cases are recorded — cannot be confirmed from the material available.
The research has also not been described in detail, so it is unclear whether the decline has been sustained over time or reflects a single period.
Further details on the study, including its methods and the data behind the near-zero figure, are expected to clarify how the decline was achieved and whether it can be repeated elsewhere in Kenya.