Malaria Vaccine Development

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Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite that lives both in mosquitoes and humans; Wikipedia defines malaria as a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. However malaria to me is a nightmare, it is scary as hell, very frustrating and intimidating disease that puts you down. In my village malaria is a disease that is common during rainy season due to presence of stagnant water which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

My first experience with malaria was at age 12. I remember missing school due to being hospitalized for about two weeks. Quinine drip was the drug of choice during that time, the side effects of this medication was worse than the effects of malaria. I personally call it a night mare disease because I remember the scary dreams I had during my malaria attack, I was hallucinating and I did not want my mother to turn off the lights at night, I wanted her to hold me tight and even though I would almost fall asleep I didn’t want to close my eyes. To this date I will do anything to prevent myself from this number one killer disease in Africa.

The symptoms of malaria were described in ancient Chinese medical writings but the word ‘Malaria’ was not yet in use. In 2700 BC, several characteristic symptoms of what would later be named malaria were described in the Nei Ching, The Canon of Medicine. ‘Malaria’ became widely recognized in Greece by the 4th century BCE, and it was responsible for the decline of many of the city-state populations. Hippocrates noted the principal symptoms. By the age of Pericles, there were extensive references to ‘malaria’ in literature an...

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...he best anti malarial medication before travelling, use mosquito nets at all times when sleeping, and to seek early treatment if infected. Malaria unlike HIV/AIDS is curable.

Works Cited

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Kakkilaya, B. (2010, November 09). Malariasite: all about malaria. Retrieved from http://www.kakkilaya, 2010/

Malaria. (2009, April 8). Retrieved from http://www.”Malaria,” 2009/introduction/Malaria

"Malaria". Nobelprize, 2010. 6 Dec 2010 http://nobelprize, 2010/educational/medicine/malaria/

"malaria." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.

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