How Does Malaria Affect The Human Body

Malaria has been in existence for thousands of years. Many historical records show that it has affected human civilization greatly by plaguing and causing mass death. The earliest record can be traced back to 2700 BC in China (Cox, 2002). It has been long associated with swamps and insects for hundreds of years but often believed to be the air from swamps causing the plague. The term malaria rooted from two Italian words ‘mala’ and ‘aria’ which literally means bad air. Humanity did not know the true nature of the long thought disease until 1894 when a Scottish physician, Sir Ronald Ross, discovered that it was actually the parasite in mosquito that is causing the malaria.

Malaria (also called biduoterian fever, blackwater fever, falciparum malaria, plasmodium, Quartan malaria, and tertian malaria) is one of the most infectious and most common diseases in the world. This serious, sometimes-fatal disease is caused by a parasite that is carried by a certain species of mosquito called the Anopheles. It claims more lives every year than any other transmissible disease except tuberculosis. Every year, five hundred million adults and children (around nine percent of the world’s population) contract the disease and of these, one hundred million people die. Children are more susceptible to the disease than adults, and in Africa, where ninety percent of the world’s cases occur and where eighty percent of the cases

Malaria is a disease that affects nearly 600 million people and causes more than a million deaths a year, the most coming from children under five. This disease is regularly found in more than 100 countries around the world and affects 40% of the world’s population. It is most commonly transmitted by an infected Anopheles mosquito. The most deadly form of malaria is known as Plasmodium falciparum because almost all deaths from malaria are caused by this specific one. Some of the symptoms that are affiliated with this strand of malaria are the destruction of red blood cells along with complications with the kidneys, lungs, and brain. In more serious cases, it can cause permanent neurological effects and even death. As the Nobel Assembly said at the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, “Diseases caused by parasites have plagued humankind for a millennium and constitute a major global health problem. In particular, parasitic diseases affect the world’s poorest populations and represent a huge barrier to improving human health and wellbeing”. Youyou Tu, one of the winners of the prize, discovered Artemisinin, “a drug that has significantly reduced the mortality rates for patients suffering from malaria by killing the malaria parasites an early stage of their development.”

Around 300-600 million people suffer from malaria each year, and over one million people die from this disease every year, mostly children younger than five. This disease is endemic to over 100 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the South Pacific, almost 40% of the world population. Malaria is caused by a parasite that is transferred by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The most deadly form of malaria is known as Plasmodium falciparum because almost all deaths from malaria are caused by this specific one. In addition to being the deadliest form of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum destroys red blood cells along with causing complications with the kidneys, lungs, and brain. In more serious cases, it can cause permanent neurological effects, and even death. As the Nobel Assembly said at the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, “Diseases caused by parasites have plagued humankind for a millennia and constitute a major global health problem. In particular, parasitic diseases affect the world’s poorest populations and represent a huge barrier to improving human health and wellbeing”. Youyou Tu, one of the winners of the prize, discovered Artemisinin, a drug that has significantly reduced the mortality rates for patients suffering from malaria by killing the malaria parasites an early stage of their development.

Malaria is a protozoa disease transmitted by the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. It is the most important of the parasitic diseases of humans. Malaria transmission see in 107 countries, and killed more than 3 million people each year (According to World Health Organization 209 report). Sub-Saharan countries are the most malaria affected area in the world. It is transmitted from person to person by the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Malaria is most common in poor and deprived areas. The principal determinants of the epidemiology of malaria are the number (density), the human-biting habits, and the longevity of the anopheline mosquito vectors. There are four species of the genes Plasmodium types of Malaria, which are plasmodium vivax, falciparum, and ovule; among them vivax is most common and predominantly found in Central America. P. ovule is mostly found in sub-Saharan Africa, but in recent year studies show that there is much less common. Even though there is a promising signs that shows a control of diseases transmission more than 50%, still remains a heavy burden on tropical communities, a threat to non-endemic countries, and a danger to travelers.

According to the CDC, in 2010 there were over 216 million cases of malaria that resulted in the 655,000 deaths (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). The incidence of malaria and the concomitant death toll illustrate the acute need for effective measures of prevention. Furthermore, over 91% of the deaths from malaria occur in Africa and furthering the case of preventative measures (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Transmission of malaria via mosquitos illustrates the difficulty in both containment and eradication of the public health risk.

Malaria is one of the most severe public health problems worldwide. It is the leading cause of death in many developing countries. Young children and pregnant woman are the groups that are the most affected by this disease. Plasmodium falciparum is responsible for causing over a million deaths each year and between 300-500 cases. In total, that is over 3.3 billion people who are at risk from malaria. This is almost half of the world’s population (World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report, 2013). Out of those

Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite called Plasmodium according to researches done by Center for Disease and Control. It is transmitted by mosquito bites and it is of major public health challenge in developing countries. It disproportionately affects poor people. Majority of malaria cases occur in the poorest countries of the world. (1). The journal, “The Great Killers; Malaria” compared malaria to tuberculosis, describing it as “Captain of the men of death” in Africa where it kills over a million people yearly (1). Worldwide malaria affects 200-300 million people, causing chronic debility in many (Charles Louis

Malaria is a disease which can be transmitted to people of all ages. It is caused by parasites of the species Plasmodium that are spread from person to person through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Malaria is a parasitic disease that involves infection of the red blood cells. Of the four types of malaria, the most serious type is falciparum malaria, which can be life-threatening. The other three types of malaria (vivax, malariae, and ovale) are generally less serious and are not life-threatening. The scientific name of

As medical technology is increasingly improving with continuous research, scientists are developing a range of medicinal treatments and cures that provide patients with exceptional care. Despite these treatments, there are constant biological diseases emerging that may be a severe threat to patients in the near future. In both western and undeveloped areas, infectious diseases are becoming progressively common and in desperate need of an innovative idea that will decrease death rates. Recent research conducted has found that infectious and parasitic diseases killed approximately 20.2 million people (CDC, 2016). Malaria is caused by any of four different species of the Plasmodium parasite that’s passed on through the bite of an infected mosquito, commonly known as the Anopheles mosquito. Approximately 311 million new infections and 900,000 deaths occur worldwide every year, of this, 438,000 deaths were caused by malaria (10 facts on malaria, 2015). While there is a vaccination for malaria, there is no commercially available vaccine created that produces effective results. The vaccine does not confer lifelong protection. Acquired immunity does not completely provide safety against alternated diseases, and malaria infection can continue for extended periods of time without signs of disease. With the severity of malaria cases additional funding is essential to enhance developing research into a

For ages malaria has affected mankind in almost all parts of the world. It has left a deep imprint on people who have been affected with the disease, and even today in countries where epidemics are common, malaria is a constant threat to people's daily lives. Malaria is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium (phylum Apicomplexa), and there are four species in the genus that cause the disease in humans. Their primary hosts and transmission vectors are female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles; humans act as intermediate hosts. Places near the equator with a warm, subtropical climate are most susceptible to malaria endemics. More than half of the

Prevalence of infant malaria cases has caused much alarm among stakeholders in the health sector; communities, policy-makers, and health workers alike. According to the 2015 Center for Disease Control statistics in an article by Ceesay et al. (2015), the overall prevalence of malaria among infants aged 6 months or less, especially in Sub-Saharan countries, was 11.8%. These astonishing figures are attributed to the neglecting of newborns in the assumption that they are protected against malaria by the presence of fetal hemoglobin and transferrable maternal antibodies (Ceesay et al., 2015). This lack of attention on malaria infection among infants, therefore, justifies the

Malaria, a treatable and preventable disease, is still a major public health threat in spite of years of numerous control and intervention strategies. In 2015, the World Health Organization reported 214 million new malaria cases and more than 430,000 malaria related deaths. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 88% of the new cases and 90% of the deaths, with pregnant women and children under five being at the highest risk of infection. Malaria is a devastating disease that accounts for about 10% overall disease burden in Africa and more than 40% public health expenditure (Ntonifor & Veyufambom, 2016). The high malaria incident rate in sub-Saharan Africa is attributed to high transmission rates from highly efficient vectors. Hence the World Health Organization recommends vector control and other prevention strategies like use of long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs), indoor residual spraying (IRS), and intermittent preventative treatment. This literature review will analyze past studies and World Health Organization reports to examine adverse outcomes of malaria infection among different populations, common interventions that have been used to control malaria infections, challenges faced in malaria prevention, and prioritizing strategies to control and prevent Malaria in Africa.

Plasmodium species (sp.) is the caustic protozoan parasite known to cause malarial disease. One of the most common disease in tropical and subtropical regions of the world is malaria, causing 500 million malarial infections with 1-2 million deaths per year (Tangpukdee, Duangdee, Wilairatana, & Krudsood, 2009, p. 93). In addition to the severity of the disease is dependent on the species of Plasmodium acquired by the patient with P. falciparum being the most severe and fatal while P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowesi cause acute disease that is rarely fatal. Furthermore, the number of malarial cases seems to be increasing due to drug resistant strains that are emerging, increased amount of travel and migration through

The mechanism of Malaria is from a Plasmodium parasite, that originate in female Anopheles mosquitoes, that can spread into humans from the bites of the infected mosquitoes (Mohandas & An, 2012). Among the “Plasmodia species… only 4 of the over 100 species of plasmodia are infectious to humans. The majority of cases and almost all deaths are caused by Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax,