“Malaria deaths have nearly doubled in Chad this year, with 2,057 fatalities registered so far and around 780,000 cases diagnosed, aid groups say,” IRIN reports. “Erratic rainfall with intermittent dry spells may have encouraged the breeding of mosquitoes and the development of larvae into adult insects,” but [h]ealth experts are conducting studies to confirm the exact causes of this year’s high rates of infection,” the news service notes. “Experts say that reported cases are beginning to stabilize, at around 40,000 cases per week,” according to IRIN. “In the worst-affected districts, the government of Chad, UNICEF and the [WHO] have launched a broad response comprising the distribution of bed nets, medicines, malnutrition treatment for children under five, and the boosting of prenatal services such as vaccination and preventive malaria treatment,” the news service adds (10/25).