Malaria Prevention and Treatment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Malaria Prevention and Treatment - Essay Example According to World Health Organization, â€Å"half of the world’s entire population that is approximately 3.3 billion people is at the risk of malaria† (WHO, 2010). This results into two hundred fifty million cases of malaria every year with the majority belonging to the underdeveloped countries. Africa, in particular is highly vulnerable to the disease with 20% of the deaths in children attributed to this disease, which means that roughly every 30 seconds, malaria takes away one young life. What is malaria? Malaria is a â€Å"parasitic disease characterized by high fever, flu-like symptoms, and anemia† (WHO, 29, 2010). It results from a parasite carried from one human to another by the bite of a female mosquito, Anopheles. As the infection transfers, the parasites called sporozoites enter the bloodstream and arrive at the liver where they develop into merozoites and then attack the red blood cells present in the blood. The symptoms of malaria occurs 10 days to a month after the infection strikes the red blood cells but this time span can fluctuate from 8 days to over an year. The symptoms include â€Å"nausea, vomiting, chills, sweating, muscle pains, jaundice, headache, fever, bloody stools, and convulsions† (WHO, 2010). These symptoms are outcomes of anemia, which might follow from the destruction of red blood cells or a surplus of hemoglobin in the blood due to massive breaking of these cells. Not only human to another human, parasite can also transfer from a mother to her unborn baby and by blood transfusions as well. However, the parasite thrives in high temperature, which makes the countries on the equator most vulnerable to the disease. A major challenge is that in some parts of the world mainly Africa, the malarial mosquitoes have developed a strong immunity towards the insecticides, which means that it is getting harder and harder to get rid of them. Worse, the parasites, which attack the cells of