QUESTION: What is malaria? ANSWER: To answer your question, I have copied below the answer to an earlier post, published on the 1st of May, 2011, which also asked "What is malaria?": Malaria is a disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Transmitted by mosquitoes, there are several different kinds of malaria distributed throughout the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the … [Read more...]
How serious is malaria as a disease?
QUESTION: (In conclusion to an earlier question regarding the seriousness of the disease and the way it is likely to affect population vigour if not controlled) - What can the community, the government, individuals (school children, parent, and teachers) do to improve the situation? ANSWER: The best way to improve the impact that malaria has upon populations afflicted by malaria is to … [Read more...]
What is Malaria?
QUESTION: What is malaria? ANSWER: Malaria is a disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Transmitted by mosquitoes, there are several different kinds of malaria distributed throughout the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, causing somewhere between 300-500 million cases of disease each year, and as many as 1 million deaths. In fact, malaria is one of the biggest … [Read more...]
Diet Therapy for Malaria?
QUESTION: Is there any tested and proven diet therapy for acute malaria? What food nutrients are essential for prevention of malaria? And what are their food sources? ANSWER: Thanks for your question, Ekuma. I am not aware of any proven and scientifically tested diet therapy for acute malaria, apart from that which is recommended for all severe fevers, which is to hydrate regularly and … [Read more...]
What will happen if malaria is not controlled?
QUESTION: In the future, if malaria is not controlled, what will happen? ANSWER: This is actually a really important question. Malaria already kills more than one million people each year, with probably around 3.3 billion people at risk from infection. This number will just increase as the world's population grows, unless successful control measures are implemented. Moreover, climate … [Read more...]
Is there malaria in Papua New Guinea?
QUESTION: Is Papua New Guinea infected of malaria? ANSWER: There is malaria in many parts of Papua New Guinea, and especially in the coastal regions. Chloroquine-resistant malaria has been reported from PNG so if travelling to malarial zones in the country you should ask your doctor about getting a prescription for another form of prophylaxis (preventative drugs), such as Malarone, Lariam … [Read more...]
Safety of Bed Net Insecticides
QUESTION: Are the insecticides used on the bed nets safe? What are the brand names and chemical names of those insecticides, and can you point me to any studies that have been done to determine their safety? ANSWER: The short answer is yes, the insecticides used in bednets are safe under the conditions in which people are exposed to them through using bednets. Most standard bednets … [Read more...]
Reduce Risk of p.falciparum
QUESTION: I am laboratories man. My question is the risk of P. falciparum especially for mother and children is very high. How can we reduce this risk? ANSWER: That's a crucial question for malaria control. Certainly, as you say, the risk of severe malaria is much greater for young children and for pregnant women. As such, these high risk groups should be targeted during prevention … [Read more...]
Is there Malaria in Naboomspruit, South Africa?
QUESTION: Is Naboomspruit in South-Africa a malaria area? ANSWER: Naboomspruit (also known as Mookgopong) is located in Limpopo province in South Africa; malaria is endemic in parts of this province, namely the eastern border of South Africa (next to Mozambique and Swaziland), and including popular tourist areas such as Kruger National Park. In these regions, precautions against malaria, … [Read more...]
Malaria – Free Bednets?
QUESTION: Why do people have to pay for the bed nets? I think that is mean to the people and they should get them for free. ANSWER: You have hit on a very important and on-going debate in the malaria control community. In many places around the world, organisations such as UNICEF have distributed free, insecticide-treated bednets, and especially to mothers—pregnant women and children … [Read more...]