Malaria is a preventable and treatable, yet life-threatening disease. It is an infection of the blood that is spread to humans by pregnant Anopheles mosquitos (“What is Malaria?” 2014). According to Medical News Today, “The word malaria comes from 18th century Italian mala meaning ‘bad’ and aria meaning ‘air.’ Most likely, the term was first used by Dr. Francisco Torti, Italy, when people thought the disease was caused by foul air in marshy areas” (“What is Malaria?” 2014). Symptoms include chills, fatigue, headache, high temperature, nausea, sweats, tiredness and vomiting. These symptoms also differ in severity depending on the case. Roughly 40% of the world is at risk of developing Malaria in their lifetime. Interestingly. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention illuminates, “About 1,500 people are diagnosed in the U.S. with malaria each year. The vast majority were infected abroad” (“What is Malaria?” 2014).
There are five types of the malaria parasite: Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium falciparum, and Plasmodium knowlesi (“What is Malaria?” 2014). Plasmodium vivax, malariae, and ovale are all milder forms of the disease. The most deadly form of the parasite is Plasmodium falciparum. Much like many other life-threatening diseases, it is most commonly found in sub-Saharan Africa. Patients with this form are more likely to become seriously ill, and consequently die from the infection. In addition, Plasmodium knowlesi, another malaria parasite, causes the disease in macaques, a type of monkey, but can also infect humans (About Malaria 2014). The process of infection is similar to that of the septicemic plague, as they both infect the blood stream. However, the development of malaria t...
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...need to be sure to take precautionary measures to ensure they are not infected during their travels, for example, taking prescribed anti-malarial medications. Those who live in these malaria-stricken areas must be sure to avoid mosquito bites and use vector control such as sprays and insecticide-treated bed nets. Medical News Today explains,“If malaria is diagnosed and treated early on, the duration of the infection can be considerably reduced, which in turn lowers the risk of complications and death” (“What is Malaria?” 2014).
References
“What is Malaria?” 2014. Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com (last accessed 14 April 2014).
“About Malaria” 2014. Malaria No More. http://www.malarianomore.org/ (last accessed 14 April 2014).
Shannon, G. “Malaria.” 2014. Lecture, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, April 12, 2014.
With no treatment half of patients who enter the second phase die within ten to fourteen days. Similar to yellow fever, malaria was transmitted to humans through mosquito bites, causing symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and vomiting. Difficult to recognize at first malaria continues to cause yellowing of the skin, seizures, and even death; these symptoms normally begin after ten to fifteen days after being contracted. Malaria was brought over to early America through slavery and killed millions of people between the seventeenth and twentieth century. Throughout the growth and expansion of America there was been several disease outbreaks both endemic and epidemic such as small pox, measles, yellow fever, and malaria. Starting with the Colombian exchange and slavery these diseases were brought to the new world and spread like wildfires that devastated populations both native and nonnative. Most commonly known for the death toll on the native Americans these diseases were so costly due to low resistance, poor sanitation, and inadequate
... to. Since they had been exposed to these diseases, their bodies were immune. When the people of the America’s and the South African cape came in contact with these germs, they were automatically killed in large numbers. The African’s knew how to avoid Malaria by living in dry areas since mosquitoes were responsible for spreading the diseases to begin with. However, Malaria was the number one killer for children under the age of five (Guns, Germs, and Steel Video).
What kills more than two thousand children a day could potentially spread around the world. All of the most effective drugs used on this disease in the last evades have gradually been rendered useless by its ability to evolve and develop. It is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are spread to people through the bites of infected Mosquitos. The most deadly of this disease lies in Cambodia. This deadly and drug-resistant disease is malaria. The story of drug-resistant malaria in Cambodia is significant because people in other countries could be affected and must be aware of the fact that it is becoming immune to the most powerful drugs used to fight it.
Plasmodium Falciparum is the causative parasite of malignant malaria, it is the most deadly strain of the malaria viruses. P. Falciparum is a eukaryotic protozoan parasite that is spread through vector transmission using mosquitoes. The Anopheles mosquito family accounts for the majority of transmission because of their tendency to target humans (WHO, 2014). Malaria accounts for approximately five hundred thousand deaths each year in environments such as sub-Saharan Africa and other temperate areas where the life cycle of the mosquito is longer allowing the parasite to develop properly (WHO, 2014). Malaria usually infects children in these areas but also commonly spreads to travellers to these areas.
Malaria is a common infectious disease found mainly in the tropics but in rare circumstances can be found in temperate areas. Depending on the circumstances malaria can be either life threatening cause serious illness.
Two days later, when we met up with Dr. Smith again, he was a different man. He was not the cheery man that we had met two days ago; instead he was in a frantic situation. He told us that his patients were not responding to the typical drugs used to fight malaria, and to make things worse they had developed "nausea, vomiting, chest pain[s], a sore throat, [and] abdominal pain." (CDC Marburg Fact Sheet) In addition some of the patients had developed a rash on their torso.
Malaria is spread when the mosquito picks up the parasites from the blood of an infected human when it feeds. The mosquito will first recieve the malaria parasite from feeding on the blood of a person who may not neccessarily show symptoms of the disease, but has the parasites in their bloodstream. When the mosquito feeds again, these parasites will be passed on to another human being. Symptoms of malaria include fever, shivering, pain in the joints, headache, repeated vomiting, generalized convulsions, and coma. If not treated, the disease, especially that caused by protozoa falciparum, will progress to severe malaria. Severe malaria generally results in death.
The TED talk addressed the issue of infectious disease and the ways in which disease is spread using the examples of cholera and malaria. The speaker Paul Ewald discussed the ways in which humans may have the ability to reduce their exposure and spread of infectious disease through applying the theory of evolution by natural selection. This spread of disease poses a threat to humans as the bacteria that cause the disease evolves with humans and become resistant to the medical interventions. The speaker addressed some key issues and posed some important solutions towards the betterment of human lives. The field of biological science studies when it comes to human’s works towards understanding the evolution of humans and the threats to the survival of our species. Understanding the evolution of disease is important in creating ways to protect humans against these diseases and properly treating those infected. The 21st century has been seen some successful cases in which science has been successful in the irradiated disease through the use of research and development of antibiotics but there are still diseases that plague countries especially in the developing world. Lack of information in regards to diseases and the effects of disease on humans can be critical to human survival if diseases evolve beyond our control which can lead to a pandemic.
Malaria is a common disease in a hot tropical area and it affects about 300 million people worldwide. There are four types of parasites that cause malaria in humans. Among the types of species Plasmodium falciparum is most common in Africa region and it can cause deadly form of disease. The Plasmodium vivax which is the second type of species is not life-threatening form of malaria. Plasmodium ovale also causes malaria. The system malaria affect most is the immune system. Malaria undergoes a complex life cycle, which involves two separate asexual reproductive stages in the vertebrate host which include humans and sexual reproduction as well as multiplication in the insect vector of all human.
May 14th 1963: The jungles of Zaire are much more intimidating and humbling in person than in the brochure at the Peace Corps office. I have been dispatched here to assist in the quarantine and treatment of the locals and some wild life. While I am overcome with the beauty of the flora I can't help but ponder the sheer amount of insects and mosquitoes that this sort of environment can support...
Malaria is a disease that is caused by parasites. It is transferred from one person to another by the infected female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria has been a serious health problem nowadays. WHO has provided the information that approximately 660,000 people died from malaria globally during 2010. Also, after estimating, there are 219 million cases of malaria infection in 2010 worldwide. In sub-Saharan Africa, being one the country that has the high rate of HIV, AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, had 90% of the people that...
In likeness to Aids, the malaria virus can be in your body for up to
Malaria (also called biduoterian fever, blackwater fever, falciparum malaria, plasmodium, Quartan malaria, and tertian malaria) is one of the most infectious and most common diseases in the world. This serious, sometimes-fatal disease is caused by a parasite that is carried by a certain species of mosquito called the Anopheles. It claims more lives every year than any other transmissible disease except tuberculosis. Every year, five hundred million adults and children (around nine percent of the world’s population) contract the disease and of these, one hundred million people die. Children are more susceptible to the disease than adults, and in Africa, where ninety percent of the world’s cases occur and where eighty percent of the cases are treated at home, one in twenty children die of the disease before they reach the age of five. Pregnant women are also more vulnerable to disease and in certain parts of Africa, they are four times as likely to contract the disease and only half as likely to survive it.
Depending on the number of parasites and the type of parasites, the type of malaria can now be determined. Antimalarials with specific infectivity suppressive action such as derivatives of artemisinin and primaquine can be prescribed to reduce malaria transmission at all intensities. For falciparum malaria, which is very lethal, the patient should be referred to a larger facility for aggressive therapy as well as parenteral antimalarials or quinine derivative malaria drugs and supportive care (Bloland & Williams, 2003, p. 57).
...at researchers are doing to try to eradicate malaria in underdeveloped countries such as Africa.