Global Warming and Vector Borne Diseases - Research Paper Example

A vector is an organism that transmits a vector borne disease from one host to another, for instance, a protozoon is a biological agent that transmits malaria, metazoan are parasites greatly known for the transmission of trichinosis caused by an intestinal round worm transmitted when an individual eats uncooked meat, bacteria may cause tuberculosis and chronic lung cancer. This paper will focus on malaria as a vector borne disease (Slater, 2009). Malaria is a vector borne disease transmitted by a female mosquito (anopheles) through bite.

The female mosquito carries the plasmodium protozoa responsible for causing malaria (Oholff, 2010). The chain of infection starts with the etiologic agents and these are the biological agents responsible for causing malaria. They are the single cell organisms with well defined nucleus known as plasmodium that is responsible for causing malaria. The next link is the reservoir and the reservoir refers to the usual habitat of the agent. The agent may live in animals, the environment or in human beings.

The protozoa that spreads malaria lives in the intestine of the female mosquito and when the mosquito bites a human being, the protozoa is transmitted through the bite to the circulatory system of the individual. The protozoa then matures in the liver and multiplies in the red blood cells causing fever, headache, pains at the joints and the back and vomiting which are symptoms of malaria. Other reservoirs are carriers, these are the individuals who have been infected by malaria but have not yet reached a time where they are experiencing the signs and symptoms of malaria (Slater, 2009).

The next link in the chain is the portal of exit and this refers to the route the disease agent uses to escape the body of the individual. In most cases the route of exit is similar to the entry route and the skin serves as the portal of entry and of exit of the plasmodium. The mode of transmission bridges the gap between the route of entry and that of exit and malaria is transmitted indirectly to a human being (Jahansen, 2001). The infectious agent (plasmodium) lives, matures and multiply in the mosquitoes’ intestines.

Upon being bitten by a female mosquito, an individual gets malaria infection. The last link to the chain of infection is the susceptible host. This refers to how a person’s genes, environment and specific acquired immunity affect the spread of the disease and how the individual body reacts to the disease. People who have been infected by malaria before tend to be more resistant to malaria infections since their bodies have become immune. The effects of malaria range from causing physical weakness to the infected person, causing pain in the joints, chronic anemia especially to children below age 5 and pregnant women, at extremes cerebral malaria can cause coma and even death of the infected (Slater, 2009).

The spread of vector born diseases is influenced by the slightest change in temperature. The rise in temperature increases the spread of malaria. Global warming can be defined as the rise in the average temperature of the earth’s surface and oceans. The primary cause of global warming is human activities. For instance, burning of fossils emits coal and oil, methane is present in the ground and as human beings dig the ground to extract coal or oil, they dig up