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...]
How to Prevent Malaria
QUESTION: What is the prevention of malaria? ANSWER: Malaria can be prevented in a number of ways, the main three of which are bite reduction, prophylaxis and vector control. Bite reduction just means steering clear of mosquitoes, and specifically those that transmit malaria. These bite mostly between dusk and dawn, so if walking around at these times of day in a malarial area, it is … [Read more...]
How Many Types of Human Malaria?
QUESTION: How many types of malaria infect humans? ANSWER: There are four main types of malaria which infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. ovale. P. ovale additionally can be split into two sympatric sub-species, P. o. curtisi and P. o. wallikeri. Each of these five kinds has a subtly different life cycle which results in slight variations in symptoms and … [Read more...]
Mosquitoes with Malaria
QUESTION: Do mosquitoes with malaria get sick like people do? ANSWER: That's a great question! As far as I know, the jury is still out in terms of what overall effect being infected with malaria has on mosquitoes, and to a large extent, it appears to vary due to lots of factors, such as the compatibility between the mosquito and the particular type of malaria parasite, the intensity of … [Read more...]
Malaria Self-Diagnosis
QUESTION: I live in Nigeria and was wondering if there are ways to find out if I malaria without going to the doctor or a hospital? ANSWER: The current "gold-standard" for malaria diagnosis, at least of active infections, is through microscropy, where a trained technician looks at a droplet of your blood on a slide, and sees if any of your red blood cells are infected with the 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...]
Malaria in Brazil
QUESTION: Is there Malaria in Brazil? If so, what pills do I need to take? ANSWER: Yes, there is malaria in many parts of Brazil, and more than one type: about 75% of cases in Brazil are caused by Plasmodium vivax, whereas the rest are from infections with P. falciparum, the more acute and dangerous species of malaria. Brazil does have good information as to the distribution of malaria … [Read more...]
Malaria in Thailand
QUESTION: I am going to Thailand. Do I need to take Malaria medication there? ANSWER: Like many other countries, that depends on where in Thailand you are planning to go. The country on the whole has been successful in containing malaria, mostly through successful mosquito control initiatives and a great initiative of government-sponsored "malaria clinics" dotted around the country, … [Read more...]