Malaria

DID YOU KNOW?

A child dies every 30 seconds from malaria

• A report on malaria in Africa tells us that 3,000 African children die from this horrible disease every day. Poverty stricken, pregnant women and their babies/children are predominantly at risk.

3.3 billion people (half of the world’s population) are at risk of contracting the disease

• There was an estimated 216 million cases of malaria and of them, 655,000 died in 2010.

People living in the poorest countries are the most at risk to the disease

• In 2010, 90% of malaria caused deaths occurred in Africa and most of them were children under 5 years old. Almost 600,000 children died.

Early detection and fast treatment reduces the disease and can prevent deaths

• This also reduces malaria transmission and having access to treatments and testing should be a component of control and a fundamental right to all the populations at risk of contracting this disease.

Most effective way to reduce the transmission of malaria is indoor residual spraying

• 80% of the houses in targeted areas must be sprayed in order for this method to show its true potential. This treatment is effective for 3-6 months, depending on the insecticide used and the type of surface it is used on.

Malaria causes significant loss in the GDP of some high-burden countries by over 1%

• This disease traps communities and families in a descending spiral of poverty because many of these people are poor and cannot afford treatment or have limited access to health care.

Malaria is a huge health problem in tropic and subtropic areas. There is an estimated 300-500 million cases of malaria every year and more than 1 million people die from it. This makes it a major hazard when people are traveling to these areas.

About Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and animals transmitted by a type of microorganism of the genus Plasmodium called protists. Once bitten by an infected female mosquito, the protists have been introduced into the circulatory system, more so the liver, where it begins to mature and reproduce. The parasites multiply inside the red blood cells, which then break open in a 48 to 72 hour span, infecting more red blood cells. The disease can also be transferred through blood transfusions and from a mother to her unborn child.

The first symptoms usually occur 10 days to 4 weeks after infection, though they can appear as early as 8 days or take as long as a year after infection. Symptoms are caused by:

• Anemia resulting from the destruction of the red blood cells
• The release of merozoites into the bloodstream
• Large amounts of free hemoglobin being released into circulation after red blood cells break open

Flu like symptoms are the most common, followed by:

• High fever
• Shaking chills
• Anemia
• Muscle pain
• Convulsion
• Coma
• Bloody stools

PROTECT YOURSELF!