QUESTION If untreated how long will a person suffer symptoms caused by Malaria? ANSWER The answer to that depends a lot on what type of malaria they have as well as their own immune status, and particularly if they have been infected with malaria before. So, for example, P. falciparum is the most severe and deadly kind of malaria, and without treatment, many people who do not have … [Read more...]
Socio-Economic and Environmental Conditions Contributing to Malaria
QUESTION what socio-economic and environmental conditions contribute to the disease? ANSWER Malaria transmission requires the presence of Anopheles mosquitoes; as such, conditions which favor the growth and persistence of these mosquitoes will also be hotspots for malaria transmission, provided the climate is also sufficiently warm for the development of the parasite within the mosquito. … [Read more...]
Which Malaria is Most Deadly
QUESTION In which form of malaria is the death rate highest? ANSWER The most dangerous form of malaria in people is Plasmodium falciparum. It causes the most severe symptoms (for example, "cerebral malaria") and also the most deaths. It is widespread around the world, but most deaths due to P. falciparum (and in fact, all malaria) occur in sub-Saharan Africa. … [Read more...]
Malaria in Africa
QUESTION How many in Africa have been affected by Malaria? ANSWER In 2010, there were approximately 174 million cases of malaria in Africa. However, some people may present with more than one case of malaria per year (especially young children), so the number of people affected is likely considerably lower. However, 90% of deaths from malaria occur in Africa, and 60% in just six … [Read more...]
Malaria Vaccine
QUESTION Is there a vaccine for malaria? ANSWER No, as of yet there is not a vaccine available for malaria. The most promising vaccine candidate, RTS,S, which has been developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is currently undergoing Phase III trials in Africa. The trial is not due to finish until 2014, so we will have to wait until then to know how effective it is. Preliminary results, published … [Read more...]
Malaria in Limpopo, South Africa
QUESTION In which year did malaria spread in Limpopo? ANSWER Malaria has likely been in the southern part of Africa for many hundreds, if not thousands, of years. In recent times, control initiatives have been in place in areas of malaria transmission in South Africa since 1945, reducing the incidence of malaria in many places. Other than that, this paper, freely accessible via the … [Read more...]
Prevalence of Malaria
QUESTION how many people are affected by malaria in a year? ANSWER In the last year for which data have been analyzed (2010), there were an estimated 216 million cases of malaria throughout the world. Of these cases, there were approximately 655,000 deaths, the majority of which were children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa. … [Read more...]
Where Does Malaria Occur?
QUESTION Where does malaria occur? ANSWER Malaria has at some stage or another occurred on every continent of the world except Antarctica. Currently, cases of human malaria are mainly found in Central and South America, parts of the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, parts of the Middle East, south Asia, south-east Asia, and the Pacific Islands of Oceania. Control efforts, mainly consisting … [Read more...]
Malaria Deaths
QUESTION what percent of people die each year from Malaria? ANSWER There are an estimated 216 million cases of malaria each year around the world, and about 655,000 deaths due to malaria. This means that overall mortality from malaria is actually very low, around 0.3%, of those who get infected. However, the majority of the people who die from malaria each year are children, and in … [Read more...]
Vaccine for malaria? Differences with yellow fever?
QUESTION Is there a vaccine to prevent malaria? What is the difference between yellow fever and malaria? ANSWER In answer to your first question, no, there is not currently a vaccine available to prevent malaria. The best current candidate, the RTS,S vaccine which was developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is currently undergoing Phase III clinical trials in Africa. Although preliminary results … [Read more...]