Malaria Overview
Malaria is a treatable disease transmitted mostly by mosquitos. It is also possible, though rare, to become infected with malaria through contact with infected blood. It’s estimated that malaria kills nearly one million people every year, mostly in Africa. Malaria has been resurging as of late, in places where in the past the disease was eradicated. That is happening because mosquitos that transmit the disease are becoming increasingly immune to insecticide that is commonly used to control the disease.
The two demographics at highest risk for malaria are children and pregnant women, as their immune system is not strong enough to handle the virus. Malaria research has been slow, but in the last decade enormous progress has been made in finding an effective and affordable treatment for malaria. A new drug called ASAQ, which combines two popular malaria-treatment drugs, was launched in 2007, and the results thus far have been great. To treat a child under 5 with ASAQ, it costs less than $0.50 USD, and less than $1 to treat an adult or adolescent.
Malaria Statistics
- Nearly one million people die each year from malaria
- 90% of those deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa
- Children account for most of the
- malaria-related deaths
- Over 200 million cases of malaria are discovered each year
- Malaria has spread to over 100 countries worldwide
- Half of the world’s population is at risk for malaria.
- Malaria mortality rates have fallen over 25% in the last decade
- Over $15 billion dollars in productivity is lost each year due to malaria
Read more: How Do You Prevent Tuberculosis?
How To Prevent Malaria
If you live or plan to travel to a high-risk malaria location, there are some very important precautions you should take that will allow you to stay relatively safe from the virus. The most important thing you can do is use bed net. Specifically, these nets are called Long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets (LLINs). They put a repellant net over your bed at night, successfully keeping away mosquitos using insecticide found in the nets. The use of these nets, which cost about $10 USD, has been one of the main reasons for the recent drop in malaria cases. It’s reported that 96% of individuals who have access to LLINs currently use it.
Besides the nets, there are other ways to prevent contracting malaria. Indoor Residual Spraying, also known as IRS, applies the same insecticide used in the nets, to the walls surrounding a building. Therefore, when a mosquito arrives at night and approaches the wall, they will die before being able to bite a subject.
How malaria is contracted?
Malaria is triggered by a parasite named Plasmodium, and gets transmitted when an infected mosquito bites a human. Only female Anopheles mosquitos can transmit malaria and infect a human being. These mosquitos only bite at night, often when the subject is sleeping. As malaria is found in blood cells, just like any blood disease, it can also be transmitted through any blood transfer (most common are blood transfusions and the use of shared syringes and needles).
Malaria can also be passed on to a fetus before its birth by its mother if she is infected.
How to treat malaria?
There are multiple ways to treat malaria and it often depends on the specific type of parasite that infected the blood, as well as the region in which the person was infected. The reason is because parasites found in specific parts of the world are immune to some of the common drugs and treatments. One of the most common malaria treatments is called artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), which has been used in Asia as medicine for centuries. In 2001, ACTs became the recommended and preferred treatment for malaria, as they are quick, easy, and have few if any side effects.
In the last few years, researchers have been working on new malaria treatments that are more effective and much more affordable. Two of the most popular new treatments are called ASAQ and ASMQ. Doctors are hailing these two new drugs as the future of malaria treatment due to their effectiveness and affordability. For example, a patient will only have to take one tablet a day instead of 4. The costs are also extremely cheap – less than $1 to treat adults and half of that to treat children.
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