Prevention And Treatment Of Malaria Essay

Malaria is a disease characterized by fever and flu like illness that according to the CDC “if not treated can lead to jaundice, kidney failure, seizures, mental confusion, coma, and death” (CDC p.2. There are four types of malaria: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae with the most common type being plasmodium falciparum. (CDC p.1) ).. This disease can only be transmitted by an interaction of blood as the parasite lives in the red blood cells of the infected host individual. This can be due to blood transfusions, sharing of syringes or by its common vector, the Anopheles mosquito.Because of its vector being a mosquito malaria is common in areas with warm temperatures and causes the most damage in poor developing

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

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 has been a major life-threatening disease for thousands of years, and continues to threaten millions of lives around the world. It infects approximately 219 million people each year, mostly poor women and children. What is striking about malaria is the fact that it has the worse effect on those with the least ability to fight the disease. The Republic of Cuba believes that malaria prevention, treatment, and research efforts must be accelerated to eliminate the burden of this disease across Africa, Asia, the Americas, and any country or territory at risk of malaria transmissions.

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

Aim - To explore the impacts Malaria has on citizens of developing countries which are effect by the disease.

Malaria is one of the most significant infectious disease burdens worldwide. The disease especially targets the most vulnerable groups, namely infants and children, and accounts for approximately 20% of childhood deaths in Africa. Many people living in countries where malaria is endemic are unable to afford, or do not have access to, medications needed for treatment, which contributes to high morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, malaria has a devastating economic impact, with gross domestic products decreasing up to 1.3% in highly affected countries. The World Health Organization concluded through their research that malaria is the fifth biggest killer in sub-Saharan Africa.

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.”

So then when they do get malaria they also don’t have the money for proper treatment. Then there is also the problem of no one wanting to donate to help find a cure to the disease.

There have been many attempts at preventing malaria, none of which have been very successful. These have usually involved protecting human beings from mosquitoes, the dreaded carriers

Ninety percent of all malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, which is the location and region of where this issue affects. In a concentrated effort to treat malaria since 2000, 700 million cases have been stopped in Africa, bringing the number of cases down by almost fifty percent. This pleasant news is the result of human interaction. Since the introduction of bed nets, malaria death rates have dropped by sixty percent, saving six million lives. All this progress has to be credited to the scientists who got notified by their respective countries when deaths constantly occur in a certain area through communication. Shortly after getting notified, the researchers travel to sub-Saharan Africa, which requires movement, to analyze the situation

Fortunately this may all change as for the first time there is talk of wiping out malaria, mostly if not entirely from human existence. To first understand how this is possible, we must first discuss why is malaria, such a big problem and why is it so efficient in what it does. Malaria is commonly found parasites, including Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. these parasites commonly infects mosquitoes which feed off of the blood of various animals including humans. Interestingly, only female mosquitos are able to host the parasites needed to spread malaria. When the mosquito puncture people with their hypodermic like nose to drink the blood, typically a bit of the blood is regurgitated and when this is done, some of the mosquito spit is also put back into the person. In the spit exists the parasites which are responsible for the symptoms of malaria. Once the parasites are in the body, they will begin to make their way to the liver and eventually infect a large amount of liver cells until the parasites are mature. Once some of the parasites are mature, some will enter the bloodstream while others will remain dormant within the liver to ensure that not all of the parasites are

Malaria is considered one of the most serious and life-threatening public health problems in the world. According to World Health Organization, more than 3 billion people live in areas classified as being at risk from malaria, with nearly 200 million cases.1 Approximately, 750,000 deaths occur every year, primarily among children, due to malaria and its complications.1 Children less than 5 years of age are more vulnerable to be affected by malaria.2 In 2015, about 438,000 malaria deaths were reported, of which estimated 69% were children under 5 years of age.2

"About Malaria." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015. .