Prevention and Treatment of Malaria - Research Paper Example

? Malaria Malaria Introduction Malaria is a life-threatening disease that has been a cause of concern in the health sector for many decades. It is caused by parasites that are transmitted to human beings through the infected mosquitos’ bites. Once in the human body, the parasites tend to multiply in the liver before infecting red blood cells (Malaria Consortium, 2007). Incidences of malaria can be found in any part of the world. However, it is more prevalent in some parts of the world compared to others. For example, it is rare in the United States, but very prevalent in Africa, South America, Central America, and Southern Asia (Sinha, 2005). In order to understand this health topic, this paper will give a brief background of malaria, provide statistics related to malaria, give information on prevention and treatment of malaria, and discuss programs related to preventing malaria. Background on Malaria It is important to start by pointing out that malaria is curable and preventable, and that the malaria burden is reducing dramatically in many places due to increased control and prevention measures. It is caused by Plasmodium parasites which are spread to humans through infected Anopheles mosquitos’ bites, also known as malaria vectors (Isle, 2001). It should be noted that the intensity of transmission largely depends on factors related to the environment, the human host, the vector and the parasite. Transmission of malaria depends on climatic conditions which may affect the survival and number of mosquitos, such as humidity, temperature, and rainfall patterns. Also, human immunity is a critical factor in transmission of malaria. While virtually people who live in malaria-risk environment are at risk of getting malaria, there are specific population risk groups which include: young children, semi-immune and non-immune pregnant women, immigrants from endemic areas, international travellers particularly from non-endemic areas, and people with weak immunity. The symptoms of malaria include: headache, vomiting, chills, muscle pain and flu (Sinha, 2005). Statistics related to Malaria According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the latest estimates of 2010 indicate that there were about 219 million malaria cases in the world, and which resulted to 660,000 deaths (WHO, 2013). Estimates by WHO indicate that the majority of malaria cases occur among children who are below 15 years old. It is also estimated that close to 125 million pregnant women are at risk of being infected with malaria every year. While prevalence rates of malaria are higher in Southern Asia, Africa, Central America and South America, Europe and the United States of America also experience incidences of Malaria. About 10,000 cases of malaria are reported every year in Western Europe. There are between 1300 and 1500 malaria cases that are reported in the United States every year (WHO, 2013). It should, however, be noted that the global incidence of malaria and mortality as a result of malaria have been declining over the years. The WHO estimates that deaths attributable to malaria reduce by more than a third between the year 2000 and 2010 (WHO, 2013). This reduction is largely attributed to wide spread use of artemisinin-based therapies and use of insecticide-treated nets. Presently, malaria is endemic in a broad band across and around the equator, Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for between 85 percent and 90 percent of malaria fatalities. It is for this reason that more key interventions is put in place in these areas to control and prevent the burden of malaria (Sinha, 2005). Prevention and Treatment of Malaria Undoubtedly, malaria is a life-threatening disease and if left untreated can develop serious and severe complications. Also, it can lead to dire social and economic consequences not only to the individuals and households affected, but also to the society as a whole. Considering the severe health, social and economic consequences of malaria, there are various prevention and treatment measures to counter the disease (Malaria Consortium, 2007). There are medicines to treat malaria. Once a patient has been diagnosed with malaria through blood test, appropriate medicines are usually administered to treat the disease. Medical studies indicate that early malaria diagnosis and treatment can drastically reduce the disease and prevent the deaths related to malaria. Also, it contributes to reducing transmission of malaria. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the best available treatment for malaria. International health organizations including WHO and CDC recommend that all suspected malaria cases should be confirmed through the use of parasite-based diagnostic testing, either rapid diagnostic or microscopy test prior to administering treatment. Parasitological confirmation results can be available in less than 15 minutes. It is important to note that treating malaria solely on the basis of symptoms should be considered only when it is not possible to conduct parasitological diagnosis (Isle, 2001). “Prevention is better than cure.” This saying is very appropriate in regard to malaria. Since vector control is the primary way of reducing transmission of malaria at the households and community level. Medical studies have found out that vector control is the only intervention than can actually reduce transmission of malaria from the highest levels to near zero. At the individual level, personal protection against bites of mosquitos represent the first defense line for preventing malaria (Sinha, 2005). There are two main forms of vector control that are considered to be effective in various circumstances. The first form is through Insecticide-treated Mosquito nets (ITNs). W.H.O recommends that all persons who are at risk of contracting malaria should be covered with ITNs as an effective way for malaria prevention. The second form of vector control is Indoor Spraying with Residual Insecticides (IRS) (WHO, 2013). It is a powerful means of rapidly reducing transmission of malaria and its full potential is achieved when at least 80 percent of houses within the targeted areas are sprayed. In addition, antimalarial medicines may be used in preventing malaria. For example, travellers can prevent malaria by using chemoprophylaxis in suppressing the blood stage of malaria infections, and therefore preventing the malaria disease (Malaria Consortium, 2007). Programs Related to Preventing Malaria Over the years, there have been concerted efforts in developing programs related to preventing malaria. In particular, the WHO has been working with a wide range of stakeholders in developing the Global Plan for Insecticide Resistance Management, specifically for malaria vectors. This plan has five pillars strategy aimed at preventing malaria (WHO, 2013). The strategies include planning and implementing insecticide resistance management strategies especially in malaria-endemic places; developing innovative and new tools for vector control; ensuring that enabling mechanisms are in place; ensuring timely and proper resistance and entomological monitoring, as well as effective malaria data management; and filling gaps in knowledge on malaria prevention strategies (Sinha, 2005). Also, the WHO Global Malaria Program has been used in preventing malaria. This program has been instrumental in helping to chart the course for control and elimination of malaria through: identifying threats to control and elimination of malaria; developing appropriate approaches for systems strengthening, surveillance and capacity building; and setting, promoting and communicating the adoption of evidence-based standards, technical strategies, guidelines, and policies (Isle, 2001). In addition, surveillance is a program related to preventing malaria. It helps in tracking progress in malaria control. It should be noted that there has been inadequate malaria surveillance as the existing systems only detect about 10 percent of the estimated number of global cases (Sinha, 2005). Surveillance systems for malaria are critical in the prevention of malaria as they facilitate effective and timely malaria response in endemic areas. Besides, it is critical in the prevention of resurgences and outbreaks, tracking progress, as well as holding governments and the entire malaria community in the world accountable. Strengthened malaria surveillance systems are critical in prevention of malaria, as well as effective control and elimination of the disease (Malaria Consortium, 2007). As such, governments and health organizations around the world should work towards strengthening the surveillance systems against malaria in order to make sure that malaria is eradicated and the consequences of the disease mitigated. References Isle, M. (2001). Malaria. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. Malaria Consortium. (2007). Malaria: A handbook for health professionals. Oxford: Macmillan Education. Sinha, A. K. (2005). Malaria. New Delhi: APH Publishing. WHO. (2013). Malaria. Retrieved on 11 November, 2013 from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/ Read More