Malaria Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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Malaria is the most serious vectorborne disease in the world. At the end of 2004, approximately 3.2 billion people lived in areas at risk of malaria transmission in 107 countries and territories. Between 350 and 500 million clinical episodes of malaria occur every year. It is a leading cause of death in many developing countries, where young children and pregnant women are most vulnerable. Of the one million deaths every year worldwide due to malaria, about 60 percent of the cases and more than 80 percent of the deaths are in Africa.

Malaria is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Four species of Plasmodium, namely, P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malaria, can produce the disease in its various forms. Among the four species, P. falciparum is the most widespread and dangerous. Malaria parasites are transmitted from one person to another by the bite of the female mosquito of the genus Anopheles. The parasite develops in the gut of the mosquito and is passed on in the saliva of an infected insect each time it takes a new blood meal. The blood in the victim’s liver carries the parasites. After incubating for nine to 16 days, the parasites penetrate red blood cells, multiply, and then progressively break down the cells. This induces bouts of fever and anemia in the infected individual. Generally, antimalarial drugs can cure the symptoms of malaria such as fever, shivering, aching joints, and headache. However, in certain regions, the parasites have developed resistance to some drugs.

Malaria has been known since ancient times, but it was centuries before the true causes were understood. Although people were unaware of the origin of malaria and the mode of transmission, protective measures against the mosquito were used for many hundreds of years. Systematic control of malaria started after the discovery of the mosquito parasite in 1889.

Malaria occurs mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. In Africa, especially south of the Sahara, an estimated 90 percent of the deaths occur due to malaria. Though malaria is a less prominent cause of death in the rural areas of some countries in South America and Southeast Asia, it causes substantial disease and incapacitation and remains a health threat for people who live in these countries.

Factors affecting the occurrence of Malaria can be broadly divided into three main categories: Environmental, biological, and behavioral. First, warm temperature and abundant rainfall provide conducive conditions for the Anopheles mosquitoes to breed and survive long enough to complete their transmission cycle. Second, the distribution and abundance of various species of Anopheles in the region at a given time will influence the intensity of malaria transmission. Also, if these mosquitoes become resistant to the insecticide(s) used locally for spraying, transmission will increase. Third, human behavior, often dictated by social and economic reasons, can influence the risk of malaria for individuals and communities. For example, poor rural populations often cannot afford the housing and bed nets that would protect them from exposure to mosquitoes. They sometimes also lack the knowledge to recognize malaria and to treat it promptly and correctly. The absence of adequate health services frequently results in recourse to self-administration of drugs and incomplete treatment. Human activities can also create breeding sites for larvae, such as standing water in irrigation ditches and burrow pits. Agricultural work such as harvesting (also influenced by climate) may force increased nighttime exposure to mosquito bites. War, migrations (voluntary or forced), and tourism may also expose nonimmune individuals to an environment with high malaria transmission.

Malaria has socioeconomic consequences for both individuals and government. Costs to individuals including preventive measures and drugs and treatment expenses, and costs to governments including maintenance of health facilities and lost days of work, add substantially to economic burdens and impede economic growth. It has been estimated that annual economic growth of countries with intensive malaria was 1.3 percent lower than that of countries without malaria.

Bibliography:

Greenwood and T. Mutabingwa, “Malaria in 2002,” Nature (v.415, 2002);
Ito et al., “Transgenic Anopheline Mosquitoes Impaired in Transmission of a Malaria Parasite,” Nature (v.417, 2002).