Power outages, due to Uganda's rolling blackouts, have negatively affected the way malaria is diagnosed, according to Dr. Heidi Hopkins, a malaria researcher based at Makerere University.
Malaria is generally diagnosed using a microscope. According to Hopkins it is becoming increasingly difficult to use microscopes because of the power outages affecting the entire country.
//Cue in: iThe traditional way #i
Cue out: i#treating with anti-malarials.i//
Hopkins says having a test for the diagnosis of malaria is important and people should not try to treat every fever as malaria because it builds resistance and is not cost effective.
An additional problem is the high cost of microscopes. According to Hopkins, many communities that need microscopes for malaria diagnosis do not have access to this equipment.
