The last decade has seen an unprecedented amount of progress in malaria elimination efforts in Africa. With organizations and governments increasing contribution to provide malarial prevention and treatment, the incidence of malaria in Africa has dramatically decreased across the world with a 26% decrease since 2000 to 2010. However, there are still over 200 million cases of malaria and an estimated half a million deaths each year are caused by malaria with victims mostly children under the age of 5 and pregnant women.
Malaria is generally more prevalent in areas with higher poverty levels than the richer areas of the world. “Children (six to 59 months) from the second, third, fourth and richest quintiles were significantly less likely to have malaria compared to children from the poorest quintiles. Children (five to 14 years) from the fourth and richest quintiles were also significantly less likely to have malaria compared to those from the poorest quintiles. The malaria burden has shifted from the under-five children (six to 59 months) to
Malaria is a preventable disease transmitted by a female anopheles mosquito that has a global annual death impact of over one million mainly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa (Patricia Schlagenhauf-Lawlor, & Funk-Baumann, M., 2005, pg. 6)(1). Although malaria is almost unheard of in developed countries like the United States, in the early 1900s malaria was just as prevalent as it is in sub-Saharan Africa today. The United States has eradicated local malaria due to increased finances and physician led public health missions in the 1940’s in the form of the DDT campaign(Humphries, 2001, pg. 2). However, in underdeveloped countries mainly located in tropical areas, the death toll to malaria continues to rise due to challenges and barriers between accumulating hefty finances, adequate resources and delivering affective outreach programs( Jennifer Kates, Michaud, J., Wexler, A., Valentine, A., 2013)(3).
In the past decade at an alarming rate Malaria has been escalating, especially in Africa. In Africa alone Malaria cases account for 90% of the known cases in the world. There are an estimated 400 million cases of this disease each year which is said to cause 1.5 – 2.7 million deaths.
Malaria has been a huge problem among many developing nations over the past century. The amount of people in the entire world that die from malaria each year is between 700,000 and 2.7 million. 75% of these deaths are African children (Med. Letter on CDC & FDA, 2001). 90% of the malaria cases in the world are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Once again, the majority of these deaths are of children (Randerson, 2002). The numbers speak for themselves. Malaria is a huge problem and needs to be dealt with immediately.
First of all, an increase in the use of insecticide-treated bed nets has reduced malaria. Approximately 60% of children under age five and 55% of pregnant women now sleep under mosquito nets, up from only 9 per cent in 2001. Nearly 3 million nets were retreated with insecticide in 2005. In addition, treatments for malaria are becoming more accessible. The Malawi Ministry of Health’s National Malaria Control Program has been able to scale up the distribution of artemisinin-based combination therapies and intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women. Because of all the prevention efforts and treatments, the incidence of Malaria has decreased over time. For example, Malaria incidence in 2015 was 386 per 1000 population representing a 20% reduction from 484 per 1000 in 2010. Also, the number of deaths due to Malaria has lessened from 5.6% to 3.4% in 2004 and 2009. Eventually, malaria will no longer one of the biggest killers in
Background - Malaria is a water borne disease. It is spread by a parasite-carrying mosquito. It kills many people and reduces a country 's capacity to develop. There are different strategies to combat malaria. Around half the population is at risk of malaria and this disease is active in 106 counties across Africa, Asian and the Americas (see source 3). the global annual mortality from malaria is between 1.5 - 3 million deaths, or between 4000 and 8000 each day. Developing countries are most vulnerable to Malaria and as shown on source 2 Malaria has been spread across many various other countries including in Europe, but these countries have eradicated Malaria.
"About Malaria." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. .
According to Tropical Medicine & International Health, Long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets (LLIN) are an effective method of malaria control but several studies have shown that school-age children use LLINs less frequently than other population groups. There are antimalarial drugs being used in different ways to control malaria in school-age children including screening and treatment and intermittent preventive treatment. Some studies of chemoprevention in school-age children have shown reductions in anemia and improved school performance but this has not been the case in all trials and more research is needed to identify the situations in which chemoprevention is likely to be most effective and, in these situations, which type of intervention should be used. In the longer term, malaria vaccines may
In Madagascar, Malaria has been a major concern due to its steady impact on child mortality. This public health disease has rendered low economic country being trapped in poverty. When the resident lack access to basic healthcare, treatment are often delayed that leads to a severe consequence. Without aggressive involvement in tackling the problem, malaria continues to plague Madagascar for the last 30 years. In a cross-sectional study conducted by Meeker and Yukich (2016) explored the association of household having a bed net and child mortality rate in Madagascar. Every year, it costs the Madagascar government about $52 million dollars on prevention efforts. The most preferred strategy in Malaria prevention was distributing the long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets, also known as LLIN. The distribution of LLIN did decreased child mortality rate by 22% in the last 10 years.
Brian, G, Y., Greenwood, D, A., Fidock, Dennis, E, K., Stefan, H, I. Kappe, P., Alonso, L., Frank, H and Collins, P (2008) “Malaria progress and prospects for eradication.” Journal Clinical Investiment. 118: 1266-1276.
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 very contagious parasite transmitted through mosquitoes to humans. Those at risk are individuals living in areas conducive to the breeding of mosquitoes, especially those that allow the mosquitoes to complete their growth cycle. Everyone is at risk
I began the research because I had been interesting in studying malaria, how it is transmitted and since moving to the United States I have reviewed the literature on Malaria impact in Nigeria and other African nations. I also remember malaria being prevalent while I was growing up in Nigeria, but I didn’t view it as a problem then and my community did not push malaria awareness.
This story takes place in South India. Sonia, a 7 year old girl, leaves New England to come spend a few summers with her Grandmother in India. At the very beginning of her story she is very clear and specific with her fear of the terrible disease, malaria. She mentions how she is bit multiple times by mosquitos and the fear she has going to sleep every night because of all the mosquitoes that attack her. She observes her surroundings and notices a little boy’s legs so large and swollen that it scares her. She fears her neighbors and she even fears India.