QUESTION: Hi, my husband is an expat working in Mozambique for the past 5 years. He has been diagnosed with malaria 9 times, what are the long term effects of this and is he just unlucky or do others also get infected often? thanks. ANSWER: If the proper precautions are not taken, then it is very easy to get infected with malaria multiple times; I have one Ugandan colleague who claims he … [Read more...]
How can malaria be controlled?
QUESTION: What is malaria? How can it be controlled? ANSWER: Malaria is a disease caused by a single-celled parasite called Plasmodium. There are four species that regularly infect humans: P. falciparum (which causes the most severe form of the disease, and is responsible for 90% of the annual 700,000 fatalities caused by malaria, mainly in Africa), P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae. A … [Read more...]
Malaria Control in Developing Countries
QUESTION: Should malaria be controlled in third world countries? ANSWER: Absolutely! Malaria is a leading cause of preventable death in many developing countries, with young children (under the age of five) at particular risk. Moreover, malaria is linked to loss of productivity, absenteeism from work/school and may even be linked to continuing cycles of poverty in areas where malaria (and … [Read more...]
Can malaria parasites pass to children through breast milk?
QUESTION: Can breast milk transfer malaria parasites from a mother to the child? ANSWER: No. Malaria parasites cannot be transferred via breast milk. However, there is evidence that some antimalarial drugs can pass through breast milk, with unknown effects on the infant; as such, it is not recommended that breast feeding mothers take certain antimalarial drugs. Studies in rats have … [Read more...]