Malaria

Question 1

What is Malaria?

Answer 1

It is a communicable disease found in tropical areas

Question 2

How is Malaria spread?

Answer 2

It is spread by disease vector - parasites carried by female mosquitoes

Question 3

How prevalence is Malaria?

Answer 3

Prevalence means the proportion of the population who have a specific characteristic in a given time period - Nearly 50% of the worlds population is at risk of Malaria

Question 4

How many people in 2020 contracted Malaria, in how many countries and how many killed?

Answer 4

241 million in 85 countries
627,000 killed

Question 5

Who are the most susceptible to dying from severe malaria?

Answer 5

Infants and children under 5, pregnant women and patients with HIV/AIDS

Question 6

Who are vulnerable if the enter areas within intense malaria transmission?

Answer 6

Migrants, mobile populations and travellers

Question 7

Will people gain partial immunity?

Answer 7

Yes, some adults in areas where malaria is common will develop partial immunity which reduces the risk that Malaria infection will cause server disease

Question 8

What is distribution in relation to malaria?

Answer 8

The pattern of health events in a population

Question 9

Where are the vast majority of cases and deaths of malaria found?

Answer 9

The African regions democratic republic of Congo, Niger and Nigeria

Question 10

What percent of Malaria cases comes form the African region?

Answer 10

95%

Question 11

What are nearly all cases of Malaria caused from un Africa?

Answer 11

Caused by the Plasmodium falciparioum parasite

Question 12

Besides the African region what other areas are Malaria hotspots?

Answer 12

The south east Asia and western pacific

Question 13

In the Americas region the Plasmodium Vivax parasite is predominate how much of the cases is it responsible for?

Answer 13

75%

Question 14

Geographically where is Malaria found?

Answer 14

In tropical regions

Question 15

What does the seasonal incidence of Malaria depend on?

Answer 15

Physical factors

Question 16

When does greatest incidence of malaria occur?

Answer 16

During and soon after the season of the highest rainfall - due to mosquitos breeding in stagnant waters supplies

Question 17

Where can malaria be present throughout the year?

Answer 17

In the equatorial regions where seasonal variations are less marked - know as “malaria endemic” areas

Question 18

An example of an “malaria endemic” region?

Answer 18

Centeral belt of the congo basin, including parts of equatorial guinea, cameroon, congo DROC and kenya

Question 19

What are the physical factors that impact the transmission of Malaria?

Answer 19

Areas of stagnant water, present during rainy seasons, are breeding grounds for mosquitoes - transmission rates fall when rainfall is annually less than 1,000mm

Malaria parasites can only survive in temperatures between 16-32 degrees

Altitude can affect the ability of mosquitoes to breed, so incidences of malaria are rare in altitudes above 1,500m altitude

Areas near coasts and forests tend to have higher humidity with less seasonal temperature variation, so are likely to be breeding grounds for transmission vectors

Question 20

Socio-economic facors that impact malaria transmission?

Answer 20

Poverty is a malaria risk factor due to lack of investment in prevention programs such as mosquito nets

There is a strong correlation between poor quality of housing and increased rates of disease, as ill fitting doors and open windows allow mosquitos to enter houses freely

Poor diet and unstable food supply leads to malnourishment particularly in children and reduced ability to fight infection

Better education systems and higher levels of literacy lead to more knowledge about malaria prevention

Strong link between poor sanitation and malaria - open sewers attract mosquitoes

Employment type can affect a persons exposure to malaria

Agricultural workers - near irrigation systems are more likely to get malaria + migrant workers who move seasonally from highland areas to lowland coastal areas as well as workers who work in open mines near water sources

Age is a risk factor - children under 5 and elderly as their immune system isn’t as strong

Question 21

How does malaria effect people?

Answer 21

It effects their quality of life, physical, mental and economic wellbeing

Question 22

What is the impact of malaria on peoples PHYSICAL well being?

Answer 22

It may cause Anaemia and Jaundice (yellow colouring of the skin and eyes) because of a loss of red blood cells

If not treated properly the infection can become sever and may cause kidney issues, seizures, confusion, comas and death

The symptoms include fever and flu like symptoms - shaking chills headache vomiting

Question 23

What are the impacts of malaria on peoples SOCIO -ECONOMIC well being?

Answer 23

Costs big econ costs to both the individuals and governments

Costs to individuals and their families include: Purchasing drugs for home treatment, expenses to travel to clinics, loss of days at work absence from school - worst case expensive for burels

Costs to governments include: supply and staffing of healthcare professionals, public heath interventions like spraying distribution of insecticide treated bed nets , lost days of work resulting in loss of income for taxes and lost opportunities for joint economic ventures and tourism

Question 24

What are the management strategies of malaria?

Answer 24

Giving antimalarial drugs and vaccines to those living and travelling in high risk areas

Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) - a program that delivers antimalarial medicine to vulnerable populations during peak malaria transmission seasons WEATHER OR NOT THE PACIENT IS INFECTED WITH MALAIRA

Treating sick people quickly by making diagnostic tests quicker, more accurate and more widely available

Question 25

What methods have been used to mitigate against malaria?

Answer 25

Vector controls: Insecticide - treated mosquito nets (ITNs) given to vulnerable communities Indoor residual spraying (IRS) the spraying of insecticide on surfaces within homes to repel mosquitoes

Question 26

Have these methods been successful?

Answer 26

Yes they have helped reduce malaria transmission a lot

Question 27

Proof of success of mitigation strategies?

Answer 27

in in 2000 6 counties in malaria transmission zones had fewer than 100 cases but by 2020 that had increased to 26 countries

Question 28

What is an issue with some of these methods?

Answer 28

IRS ab antimalarial drugs are expensive and less available to populations in remote rural areas, where they are often needed the most

Question 29

What is a negative of insectoids'?

Answer 29

Peoples health - some have been linked to cancer and miscarriages in pregnant women Deaths of insects and fish in local water ecosystems

Question 30

What is happening to mosquitos?

Answer 30

Evidence from Vietnam Cambodia and Thailand that they are becoming resistant to insecticides so they are becoming less effective - research is needed to develop new varieties to outpace the resistance