How Malaria Is Caused - Research Paper Example

? Malaria Malaria Introduction Malaria is a contagious disease that costs the world several billions of dollars every year. Although it has been a broad social burden to all governments for decades, the disease is highly endemic in African countries. The major portion of the health budget of African countries is being spent on fighting malaria. Malaria is included in the black list of ten dreaded diseases that kill men. As Ye, Sankoh, Kouyate and Sauerborn (2008) point out, the word malaria comes from two Italian words Mala means “bad” and Aria Means “air”; and Lancici is considered to be the first one to use the term Malaria when the people of Italy attributed the cause of this disease to the foul smell which came from the marshy lands (p. 1). How Malaria is Caused Malaria is one of the diseases spread by mosquitoes. Normally this disease is transmitted to people by a certain kind of female mosquito called Anopheles. The parasite which causes malaria is found in the female mosquito’s saliva. Jacoby and Youngson (2004) clearly describe the symptoms of malaria and how it is transmitted from one person to the other. According to the authors, when a person is bitten by a female mosquito, the parasite enters the bloodstream through the mosquito’s saliva and then makes its way to the liver. Initially, they cause no troubles, but the infected liver then gets damaged releasing merozoites that badly affect the red blood cells. The multiplying parasites eventually cause the symptoms of malaria in the host. The parasite that causes malaria is called a plasmodium. Typically, there are four different species that cause this disease in man. They are plasmodium falciparum, plasmodium malariae, plasmodium vivax and plasmodium ovale. Among these most dangerous one is plasmodium falciparum as it causes most serious complications and often becomes fatal. The rests are less malignant that cause severe fever at alternative intervals. Another peculiar characteristic of these non falciparum parasites is that they may get into the liver and may remain inactive for long time. In other words, the symptoms of the disease may be visible only long after the original infection (p. 1123). The Origin of Malaria As already discussed, malaria in humans is caused by plasmodium parasites. While talking about where malaria came from, it is attributed to chimpanzees and gorillas. To illustrate, genetic variations in plasmodium falciparum testifies that it has the recent origin from some other primate species. As Hawks (2010) states, the plasmodium falciparum is similar to the major chimpanzee malaria parasite known as plasmodium reichennowi. So, the scientists are of the assumption that we got falciparum malaria from chimpanzees. However, the latest studies of Weimin Liu and associates found out that human falciparum parasites group in with a single clad of gorilla parasites (Hawks, 2010). Transmission Malaria is normally transmitted from person to person when mosquitoes bite a person after biting an infected person. In contrast, a pregnant woman can pass malaria to her baby either through breast feeding or through birth. A person using a needle that has been used by an infected person can cause virus transmission. Having blood transfusion from an infected person can also pass the disease on to other individuals. Also sharing things and facilities with infected persons can intensify the chances of transmission. Significance of Malaria as a Health Issue Irrespective of the geographical difference, the awesome epidemic has caused severe socio-economic impact on inhabitants of every continent. For instance, in terms of mortality, malaria holds the major position. It has been reported (Najera, Kouznestsov & Delacollette) that in the 1922-23 malaria affected more than 10 million people and caused about 60,000 deaths in the Soviet Union. Likewise 100 million people were estimated to have affected and 1 million died in India in 1908. Vaccines Currently no specific vaccine is available for the effective prevention of malaria though a lot of research has been done in this area. As Jacoby and Youngson point out, the most difficult thing about Malaria is that it is not like a virus, against which our body produces antibodies as a result of vaccination. The parasite causing malaria goes through many different stages and hence it is impossible to develop vaccines for all of them. The best way to prevent the proliferation of this disease is to destroy mosquitoes that transfer malaria (Jacoby and Youngson (2004, p.1122). However, Quinine and Chloroquine are probably the best known drugs that are used to treat malaria. As Lakey (September, 2010) describes, Quinine is a drug prescribed by doctors to treat mild cases of malaria. Quinine works by killing the parasite that causes the blood infection. Quinine is available in capsule form and is taken every eight hours for consecutive seven days. The amount of the dosage depends on whether the patient has kidney disease. Possible side effects of Quinine use include sweating, dizziness, and headache (Lakey, 2010). Chloroquine also is a vaccine used to treat malaria. It is often used as a preventive medicine and is taken two weeks before the anticipated exposure. This medicine is available in tablet forms and is distributed only on the prescription of Doctors. The possible side effects include diarrhea, dangerous skin reactions, and damage to eyes. Though it includes a number of side effects, they are not severe and needs no treatment in particular (Lakey, October, 2010). Mlarone is yet another medicine used to prevent malaria. It is a drug that contains two different types of anti malarial medication. It comes in the form of tablets and is generally taken once a day. The possible side effects of this medicine include stomach pain, vomiting, and headache. Malarone prevents Plasmodium parasites from copying nucleic acid. The two components of Malarone do this in slightly different ways, allowing them to work well in combination to prevent Plasmodium parasites from reproducing in the bloodstream (Lakey, October, 2011). Conclusion Malaria is indeed a life threatening disease that is transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Evidently, it is the filthy surroundings that help the growth of mosquitoes. So, the people in under developed countries are the main victims of this disease mainly due to the large number of slums in those regions. Obviously, the campaigns to control and prevent malaria have reduced the intensity of malaria dramatically in almost all the developing and under developed countries. However, eradication of mosquitoes remains to be the best and sole preventive measure. References Hawks, J. (22 September, 2010). Falciparum malaria came from gorillas. John Hawks Weblog. Retrieved from http://johnhawks.net/node/14837 Jacoby, D. B & Youngson, R. M. (2004). Encyclopedia of Family Health. China: Marshall Cavendish. Lakey, S. (16 September, 2010). Quinine. MEDTV. Retrieved from http://malaria.emedtv.com/quinine/quinine.html Lakey, S. (22 October, 2010). Chloroquine. MEDTV. Retrieved from http://malaria.emedtv.com/chloroquine/chloroquine.html Lakey, S. (31 October, 2011). Malarone. MEDTV. Retrieved from http://malaria.emedtv.com/malarone/malarone.html Najera, Kouznestsov & Delacollette. Malaria Epidemic Detection and Control Forcasting and Prevention. World Health Organization. Retrieved October 3, 2009 from http://apps.who.int/malaria/docs/najera_epidemics/naj1.htm#p1.1 Ye, Y., Sankoh, O., Kouyate, B & Sauerborn, R. (2008). Environmental factors and malaria transmission risk: Modelling the risk in a Holoendemic Area of Burkina Faso. England: Ashgate Publishing. Read More