Britain’s Queen Elizabeth is "afraid" of malaria.
The 88-year-old monarch shared her concern that the outbreak of the Ebola virus is detracting attention away from those suffering from malaria and other life-threatening diseases in West African hospitals.
According to the Telegraph newspaper, the Queen made the comments to Professor David Heymann, who specialises in infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, as she visited the foreign affairs think tank at Chatham House in London.
Professor Heymann said: "She was very interested in Ebola because she said her doctor had told her that there were more people dying from malaria every week than are dying from Ebola – and he was right.
"She’s afraid that malaria will have a comeback because of the fact people are not paying enough attention to it."
He described the monarch as "very perceptive" and agreed she had come to the "right conclusion" over the outbreak’s impact on health services.
He said: "This should not detract attention from Ebola. It’s a very terrible disease.
"But on the other hand what the Queen has done is call attention to other infectious diseases.
"She asked a very piercing and important question which means that she has analysed clearly the world situation of disease and she’s come to this conclusion which is the right conclusion."
A royal source later explained: "She was concerned that efforts to address Ebola should not detract from work to combat other health threats in West Africa."
The Queen visited Chatham House to launch ‘The Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs’ which hopes to encourage the development of skills in leaders to help them deal with critical situations across the globe.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth ‘afraid’ of malaria
