Cause And Effects Of Malaria

Introduction

The parasitic organisms of the Plasmodium genus cause the life threatening disease known as Malaria. Malaria is a mosquito transmitted disease that has ravaged human kind for millennia. It is a disease that has once spread to every part of the world and even now is ubiquitous in certain regions. Malaria has managed to shape the natural selection of the human species and continues to affect the progression of many nations. It has hampered the economic and social growth of countries where it is found in such a profound way it has been stated that “Where malaria prospers most, human societies have prospered least”(Sachs, 2002).

History

The history of malaria is as long as recorded human history. The first known symptoms were recorded in ancient Chinese writings around 2700 BCE (CDC). Hippocrates described the symptoms in ancient Greece around 400 BC describing the paroxysm and periodicity of the symptoms as well as linking it to marshes and the warmer seasons. Ancient Romans also recognized the association between malaria and stagnant water, associated it with the bad air of surrounding swamp lands which are the origins of the diseases name; mal’aria (Cunha 2008). The malaria parasite plasmodium was first identified in 1880 by Alphonse Laveran. He identified the parasite as motile elements in the blood samples of sick soldiers in a military hospital. He would later go on to conclude that mosquitoes were the vector of the disease earning a Nobel Prize for his work in 1907. With the understanding of the disease and vector, control efforts began to lessen the impact of the disease. The construction of the Panama Canal would not have been possible if not for the control of yellow fever and malaria in the area. An eradicat...

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...resents a massive burden on the countries where it is prevalent. There is a strong correlation between malaria and poverty. The average adjusted GDP of malaria endemic countries was less than a fifth of the GDP of countries without malaria (Sachs 2002). Malaria is a leading cause of death in low income countries with it causing 1.24 million deaths in 2002 (Marcus 2009).

Conclusion

Plasmodium is a genus of protozoan parasites which cause a long lasting chronic disease that has afflicted humanity for thousands of years. Even today it ravages parts of Africa and Asia where it hinders social and economic progress. It presents a tremendous burden to nations where it is endemic and contributes to millions of deaths a year. It will continue to plague developing nations in the tropical regions of the world as vector control methods remain out of reach for the population.