Down with Mosquitoes and Malaria - Essay Example

Down With Mosquitoes and Malaria Malaria has for a long time been among the leading killer diseases in the world. At thesame time there have been noticeable efforts to try and prevent prevalence of malaria. Malaria is more prevalent among young children and expectant mothers but it is important to note that other people too outside theses brackets can contract malaria. Malaria is transmitted by the female anopheles mosquito and therefore one of the best measures to stop malaria prevalence is getting rid of mosquitos.

Mosquitos dwell and breed mainly in marshy areas and areas with litter. However, these areas mainly act as mosquitos’ breeding site and therefore people living in around such areas have been found to be the most affected by malaria cases. Several methods such as use of spraying insecticides and depositing pesticide chemicals in water bodies have been used in the past. However, since these methods are not environmental friendly the need to develop other methods of fighting malaria is imminent.

In the modern day there has been some advancements such as use of surfactants among other chemical methods. Surfactants are mainly used in water catchment areas to prevent mosquito breeding. Surfactants comprise of elements that are both soluble and insoluble in water hence the ability to diffuse in water. Furthermore, surfactants adsorb between air and water molecules or molecules of two mixed liquids such as water and oil. This aspect of adsorption forms the basis of using surfactants to prevent mosquito breeding due to the ability to form emulsifications.

Surfactants reduce the surface tension of between liquids and or between a liquid and a solid. As a result they can be used in mosquito breeding areas since reduced surface tension makes the mosquitos to drown. Additionally surfactants are organic therefore they do not cause environmental pollution and can hence be considered an efficient method of preventing mosquito breeding. However, use of surfactants in large quantities may have negative environmental effects hence their use is relatively restricted.

Some common examples of surfactants are detergents and medicinal lotions.In addition, researchers have come up with a way of suing heparin to fight malaria. This process involves reducing activity of PfEMP1,which facilitates binding of uninfected RBCs by infected RBCs, by using heparin since it engulfs the infected cells hence preventing the binding.. When red blood cells (RBCs) are infected by malaria parasites they cling to the walls of blood vessels allowing these parasites to multiply and also bind other RBCs thereby forming clumps (Eley 2013).

Another advantage of using heparin is that it is cheaply available. However, studies are still being advanced in a bid to perfect use of heparin and even to incorporate it to malaria medication. Use of DDT treated net has also been adopted in many parts of the world especially the sub Saharan Africa. WHO has been on the fore front to advocate for use of treated nets in a bid to reduce malaria prevalence. Research shows that use of DDT treated nets is the most effective way of reducing malaria cases.

This research had sought to compare effectiveness of DDT with other chemicals such as dieldrin and alphacypermethrin. Although on aggregate dieldrin showed more effectiveness in offering protection against malaria, it was found that its effectiveness was short lived due the probability of a quick insecticide build up (Grieco, Achee, Chareonviriyaphap, Suwonkerd, Chauhan, Sardelis, and Roberts 2007). This implies that use of DDT treated nets is highly effective in fighting malaria.In conclusion, the fight against malaria has intensified and with the ongoing attempts to develop new methods of fighting malaria there is hope that malaria cases will significantly decline.

For instance advancements of surfactants and heparin have marked a huge step in combating malaria. Although use of DDT has been in existence over the past years, it is still a useful technique of reducing malaria cases. Therefore, it is in order to conclude that a bright future lay ahead in terms of significantly low cases of malaria.Works CitedEley, Emma. “New Method to Target Malaria”. Chemistry World. 18 Jan. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. < http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2013/01/targeting-red-blood-cells-malaria-infected-patients>.Grieco, J., Achee, N.

, Chareonviriyaphap, T., Suwonkerd, W., Chauhan, K., Sardelis, M., and Roberts D. “A New Classification System for the Actions of IRS Chemicals Traditionally Used For Malaria Control”. Plos one. 8 Aug. 2007. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. < http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0000716#s2>.