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Taking a Look at Malaria

Decent Essays

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes.
The main burden of malaria (more than 90%) is in Sub-Saharan Africa with an estimated annual number of deaths over 1 million. Two thirds of the remaining burden hits Brazil, Colombia, India, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. The country with highest density of malaria cases is the Democratic Republic of Congo. There are no malaria cases in richer regions with temperate and cool climates like Russia.
Where malaria is found depends mainly on climatic factors such as temperature, humidity, and rainfall. For example, at temperatures below 20°C, Plasmodium falciparum cannot complete its growth cycle in the Anopheles mosquito, and thus cannot be transmitted. Outbreaks often occur following periods of increased precipitation. This is primarily the result of positive effects on vector breeding, development rates, parasite sporogony and vector survival.
Thus, the distribution of malaria is concentrated in tropical countries with prevalence generally increasing towards the equator.
The sensitivity of malaria to temperature change has been noted in some highland regions in Africa, where El Niño-associated warming and increases in rainfall have triggered epidemics.
Most of the areas with a high density of malaria are also less developed countries. The lack of financial resources limits their ability to treat the sick. The people tend

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