Malaria Issue Report

The issue I am going to be talking about in my composition is about how to prevent the transmission of malaria around the world.Malaria is a mosquito-borne, climate fond illness ca intentiond by the parasite plasmodium.1 Malaria is have gotd by one of four species of the protoctist Plasmodium2. The Plasmodium parasites multiply in ablaze(p) root cells this finish cause symptoms such(prenominal) as fever and headache, but in severe cases the disease cease lead to death.TransmissionMalaria is transmitted through the stick of an septic effeminate (Anopheles) mosquito although it can be transmitted through contact of infected blood but this is very uncommon.3 The cycle of malaria is an Anopheles mosquito bites an infected almostbody a small amount of infected blood is taken. The plasmodium parasite grows and matures in the mosquitos gut for close to a week before it then travels to the mosquitos salivary glands. When the mosquito next bites someone, these parasites mix wi th the saliva, ar then injected with the bite, and the transmission of malaria is complete.4Cycle in the BodyOnce in the blood, the parasites travel to the liver-colo release and enter liver cells, to grow and multiply. After some era, the parasites leave the liver cells and enter red blood cells. In the red blood cells the malaria parasites continues to grow and multiply. After they mature, the infected red blood cells rupture, freeing the parasites to attack and enter other red blood cells.5SymptomsToxins released when the red cells burst, these be what cause the common symptoms of malaria, these are1. fever2. Chills3. Flu like symptomsStatisticsAccording to the World Health Organisation (WHO) malaria piece 2011, there were 216 million cases of malaria and an estimated 655,000 deaths in 2010. Malaria mortality rates view as fall by more than 25% globally since 2000. Most deaths occur amongst children existing in Africa where a child dies every minute of malaria and the di sease accounts for approximately 22% of all childhood deaths.6Malaria is a disease that precisely occurs in certain climates, due to the fact that malaria is passed on through mosquito bites so sole(prenominal) certain countries and regions deplete the conditions that mosquitos can survive in are transplant by the disease this includes sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America as shown in the picture below7This picture shows that malaria affects countries mainly in the Southern Hemisphere, curiously South America (but north of Argentina) Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia.Malaria has been on the startle since the 1970s and constitutes a serious risk to health in some(prenominal) tropical countries.8The Problem with malaria is that it mainly affects masses who live in LEDCs (Less stintingally Developed Countries) the problem with this is that they cannot permit to get the healthcare to treat the disease unlike with MEDCs (More Economically Developed Countries) where the y dont get diseases of this change commonly but are able to afford the healthcare.Malaria too causes a number of deaths and illnesses every year, in particular in countries which suffer from a push-down list of poverty. This subject matter that if parents catch the diseases then their children will be orphaned and go away to fend for themselves.Solutions to the ProblemThere are several(prenominal) methods of treating malaria and these are some of the outgo methods to protect us from the diseaseNetsA mosquito net protects against mosquitos, flies, and other airborne insects. Mosquito nets are the first line of defence against the deadly bite of mosquitos. The fine, see-through mesh stops insects from biting or affecting the person using the net. The mesh is fine enough to stop these insects entering the quiescence area of the person. Research has open up that the latest Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) but lives they have been proven to cut malaria cases in children by half as well as reducing child deaths by 20%9. The use of these nets can also help protect other people sleeping nearby who are not sleeping under a net. Its estimated that when 80% of people sleep under a net, the entire confederacy is protected.10Although it is vital that the people using the mosquito nets regularly check the nets for any holes uncollectible enough for insects to get through. Scientists in Senegal have been researching the success rate of mosquito nets subsequently six million nets were distributed over quintuple geezerhood. Within three weeks of the nets existence introduced, the scientists found that the number of malaria attacks had started to fall it had fell by 13 quantify since before the nets had come in. The researchers also collected specimens of Anopheles gambiae, which is the type of mosquito species trustworthy for transmitting malaria to humans in Africa. Between 2007 and 2010 the proportion of the insects with a transmitted resistance ros e from 8% to 48%.By 2010 the proportion of mosquitoes foul to Deltamethrin was 37%.11TestingMalaria parasites in the blood can best be detected under a microscope, but, when this is not accessible malaria cases can also be quickly and accurately identified using a rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT). RDTs are disposable blood examen kits which can be used anywhere and provide a quick result, they quantity the amount of plasmodium in the blood thus showing if you have malaria or not. RDTs mean that a potentially life-saving diagnosis of malaria, which usually could only be possible in hospitals, can now be make available anywhere.12 The reliability of RDTs is a successful diagnostic reading of 80% or in other words 4 out of 5 people well-tried for malaria get a correct result back.13Implications of the solutions to the problemThere are a number of solutions to malaria, although they do have economic and environmental implications. The solutions includeNetsThe economic problem with net s is that malaria is mainly affecting LEDCs therefore people are unable to afford the cost of buying drugs nets as they can be expensive.Environmental issues with mosquito nets are that mosquitos are possibly head start to get immune to the chemical Deltamethrin which is used in the bed nets this means that they are no longer being useful by stopping the female mosquito from biting and assassinateing harmless insects instead. The social implications of using nets are that nets prevent people being bitten by malaria carrying mosquitos, this means that less recover to health services are needed therefore less time is lost from work because of malaria.MedicinesArtemisinin-based Combination Therapies (ACTs) are therapies made by have an extract of the Artemisia plant and another medicine. They are the most effective and near treatments for malaria, and are strongly recommended for the treatment of malaria in Africa.14 The implication to this method is that they are highly expensiv e to produce and take around 15 years to research and develop. And seeing as malaria mainly affects LEDCs it wouldnt be a lot use to them, as they will not be able to afford to buy them. Also the problem with using drugs is that a lot of interrogation takes place on animals which have ethical implications along with it.Benefits/Risks of solutions to the ProblemMedicinesIn the table below there is a list of advantages and disadvantages for using diametrical medicines for treating malariaChemoprophylaxis drugPresentationAdvantagesDisadvantagesProguanilPaludrine tablets1. low gear cost2. healthful tolerated3. Suitable for meaning(a) or breastfeeding women1. Increasing resistance of P. falciparum to chloroquine2. Large number of tablets required if taken in combinationChloroquineNivaquine syrupAvloclor tablets1.MefloquineLariam tablets1. Weekly dose2. efficacious for most areas of the world3. Can be used in the get 2 trimesters of pregnancy1. Needs to be commenced 2 to 3 weeks e arlier to departure2. May cause neuro-psychiatric adverse eventsdoxycyclineCapsule1. Low cost2. Generally well tolerated3. Can be commenced close to departure date1. May cause photosensitivity2. May cause vaginal yeast contagions in women3. Unsuitable for children under 12 yearsAtovaquone/proguanilMalarone tablets1. Well tolerated2. Can be commenced close to departure date3. Short signifier1. Expensive15According to the table above the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in the five different medicines, although with Doxycycline the advantages and disadvantages are in the same proportion. This would suggest that Doxycycline may not as effective anti-malarial medicine as some of the others.TestingAnother solution to the problem could be to use malaria testing kits such as the Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT). The benefit of this is that it can shape a diagnosis in fraction of the time that a measurement test takes. This means that people who have malaria can be toughened a lot quic ker than they usually could be by the specimen method, which involves looking at a blood sample under a microscope to detect plasmodium. An issue with RDTs is that they can be expensive for people life story in LEDCs as they can purge from $1.20 $13.50 per test.16The risks of RDT is that, although it is a quick test, it is not always effective at identify the plasmodium in the blood. The risk of infection is that you may get inaccurate result, leading to you being quite unwitting of having the disease, therefore getting the treatment early enough to take effect. preference Solutions to the ProblemQuinineAnother solution to the problem which was used up until the thirties as the only cure for malaria is quinine. It is found in the Andes Mountain range of Peru and Ecuador17. The medicinal properties to quinine has been around since the 17th century, but back then people used to chew the bark off of the cinchona tree as it was believed to be a useful treatment for malaria. Althou gh people didnt have medicinal knowledge, due to the positive result, they thought it was an effective method of malaria treatment. The industrious ingredient is quinine which is found in the cinchona tree. Quinine works by grave the bodys core temperature, thereby killing the plasmodium parasites that cause malaria in the red blood cells. Quinine can also be found in tonic water some doctors/ GPs may recommend potable tonic water when going to a high risk country.vaccineA vaccination involves injecting a small harmless amount of infection into you. Finding a vaccine to protect people from malaria would be the best possible defence18. Around the world scientists are working on this all-important(a) research.19 However, malaria parasite, plasmodium has proven to be adapting to the different cures and vaccines that scientists have been creating. This means that they change their characteristics as antibodies are developed. This adaptability has made finding a vaccine especially ch allenging.20Currently there is no vaccine, but there are several being developed. Several potential malaria vaccines are already being tested in clinical trials although no vaccine has been licensed for use.21 It will be a long wait before a vaccine is available to prevent the spread of malaria.22 Dr Sandy Douglas (Welcome Trust Clinical Research Training) at the University of Oxford said We have found a way of making antibodies that kill all different strains of malaria parasites. This is still in an early research bod the next step is to do clinical trials in people.23