On Wednesday, April 25, the world over is
commemorating the 2018 World Malaria Day. This year’s theme is “Ready to beat
malaria”. It’s a day set aside by the World Health Organization (WHO) to create
awareness on the prevalent malaria scourge.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious
disease of humans and other animals caused by a group of single-celled
parasitic micro-organisms known as protozoa belonging to the genus plasmodium.
The disease is mainly transmitted by mosquito bites, and the symptoms often commence
few days after the incident.
Malaria is transmitted most commonly by an infected female Anopheles
mosquito. The mosquito bite introduces the parasite called plasmodium from the
mosquito’s saliva into a person’s bloodstream. The parasites then travel to the
liver where they mature and reproduce.
The signs and symptoms of malaria typically begin eight to twenty-five
days following infection. However, symptoms may occur later in those who have
taken anti-malarial medications in the past as prevention.
The presentation may include
headache, fever, shivering, joint pain, vomiting, haemolytic anaemia, jaundice,
haemoglobin in the urine, retinal damage, and convulsions. Malaria in pregnant
women is the major cause of stillbirths, infant mortality, abortion and low birth
weight.
Symptoms of malaria can recur after varying
symptom-free periods. Depending upon the cause, recurrence can be classified as
either recrudescence or relapse. Recrudescence is when symptoms return after a
symptom-free period; it is caused by parasites living in the blood as a result
of inadequate or ineffective treatment.
Whilst, relapse is when symptoms reappear after the parasites have been
eliminated from blood but persist as dormant hyponozoites in liver cells. It
commonly occurs between eight to twenty-four weeks and is common among P. Vivax
and P. Ovale infections.
The primary sources of
mosquitoes include sewage, refuse, dirty stagnant water, and untidy
environment. In most cases, mosquitoes are peculiar to damp and dirty
environments or substances such as gutter, pool, faeces, urine, among other solid
and liquid waste materials. This is why residents of untidy localities are at a
high risk of contracting malaria.
Methods used to prevent
malaria include medications, mosquito elimination through fumigation coupled
with regular environmental sanitation, as well as prevention of mosquito bites
via regular cum proper use of the mosquito nets, among others. Prevention of
malaria, which is yet to have a vaccine, may be more cost-effective than
treatment of the disease in the long run. And, the initial costs required are
out of reach of many of the world’s poorest people.
Owing to the non-specific
nature of presentation of symptoms, diagnosis of malaria in non-endemic areas
requires a high degree of suspicion. Malaria is invariably confirmed by the
microscopic examination of blood films or by antigen-based Rapid Diagnostic
Tests (RDT). Microscopy is the most commonly used method to detect the malaria
parasite in the body.
In spite of its widespread usage, diagnosis by microscopy suffers from
two main drawbacks: many settings especially rural are not equipped to perform
the test, and the accuracy of the results depends on both the skill of the lab
technician and the levels of the parasite in the blood.
Malaria is widely treated with anti-malarial medications. The ones to be
used solely depend on the type and severity of the disease. While medications
against fever are commonly used, their effects on outcomes are not clear.
Uncomplicated malaria may be
treated with oral medications. The most effective treatment for P. Falciparum
infection is the use of artemisinins in combination with other anti-malarial
drugs known as Artemisinin-Combination Therapy (ACT), which decreases
resistance to any single drug component.
It is obvious that malaria is a killer disease. The WHO estimates that
in 2010, there were about 219 million cases of malaria outbreak resulting in
660,000 deaths. The majority of cases, about 65%, occur in children under
fifteen years.
Survey also indicates that about 125 million pregnant women are at risk
of infection each year. In Sub-Saharan Africa such as Nigeria, Angola, Chad,
Congo, Benin, Ghana, and several others, maternal malaria is associated with up
to 200,000 estimated infant deaths yearly. In a nutshell, globally, about 3.3
billion individuals in 106 countries are at risk of malaria, mostly among
African children.
As the annual World Malaria Day is commemorated today, I urge us to be
extremely conscious of the outlook of our surroundings since malaria is mainly attributed
to unhealthy environment. Thus, we should always endeavour to properly dispose
any form of waste found within our place of residence as well as thoroughly
sanitize our gutters and toilets at all times. In addition, we ought to ensure
that our beds are always covered with treated mosquito net whenever we lie in
it.
Among all, we should endeavour to see our physician from time-to-time or
whenever we notice any abnormality in our body system, for onward review of our
health status. In the same vein, the various health personnel across the
country are expected to contribute meaningfully in creation of awareness
regarding the causes and possible effects of malaria disease cum its epidemic.
Most importantly, we ought to always bear in mind that prevention is
invariably better than cure. Think about it!
Comrade Fred Nwaozor
Executive
Director, Docfred Resource Hub (DRH) - Owerri
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Twitter: @mediambassador
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