Saturday 12 May 2012

Causes of Malaria



You can only get malaria if you're bitter by an infected mosquito, or if you receive infected blood from someone during a blood transfusion. Malaria can also be transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy. source:  youtube

The mosquitoes that carry Plasmodium parasite get it from biting a person or animal that's already been infected. The parasite then goes through various changes that enable it to infect the next creature the mosquito bites. Once it's in you, it multiplies in the liver and changes again, getting ready to infect the next mosquito that bites you. it then enters the bloodstream and invades red blood cells. eventually, the infected red blood cells burst. This sends the parasites throughout the body and causes symptoms of malaria.

AN URBAN SNAPSHOT

stagnant water in Africa. source: Google images
 In the pooewar neighborhoods, stagnant water from overflowing sewers pools in low lying areas a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying malaria. The areas where these stagnant ponds develop is costly and drains community's resources, especially during the rainy season. Families too poor to move or to improve their communities are trapped in high risk environments where malaria and other diseases run. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

In a malaria education workshop, participants were surprised to learn that malaria could actually be prevented. They saw it as common and inevitable. In some areas, people still hold mistaken beliefs  about malaria that it caused by witchcraft or by too much sun exposure, or by consuming too much palm oil. Simply knowing that malaria is a parasite that is transmitted by mosquitoes can be life saving.

bed net in Africa. source: Google images


 Poverty stricken communites do not have the resources to protect their residents from malaria. In the United States a long-lasting, insecticide treaded bed net would cost about $10, a full course of malaria medications only $5. But many people in Africa are living  on less than $2 a day and can't afford to buy these life saving items.





1 comment:

  1. Hey Emily!

    Wow, it's actually pretty scary how easily malaria can infect a person yet cause so much damage. Like you said in your post, education is a very powerful tool in the fight against malaria. It's amazing that just by educating people on where malaria comes from, can drastically decrease their chances of becoming infected. What I'm wondering is if there are any programs in malaria-prone countries that are simply education based? Have they seen any successes?

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