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Malaria has been one of the major threats to health worldwide. A 2020 World Health Organization (WHO) report revealed that nearly half of the world's population was at risk of malaria. Globally, the WHO recorded 241 million clinical cases of malaria and 627,000 people dying from the disease. Most cases and deaths are reported to have occurred in sub-Saharan Africa.
Children under 5 years of age are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria. In 2020, children constituted about 80% of all malaria deaths in the WHO African Region. The World Health Organization estimates that one child dies from malaria every two minutes in sub-Saharan Africa.
CAUSES OF MALARIA
Malaria is caused by parasites that are transmitted to a person through the bites of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. There are four kinds of malaria parasite species that cause malaria in humans. They are, Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium malariae. Amongst all these, Plasmodium falciparum is found to pose the greatest threat to health.
TRANSMISSION OF PARASITE
Only the female anopheles mosquito can transmit malaria parasites. A mosquito must have been infected through a blood meal from an infected person before it can transmit the parasite to another. When a mosquito bites a person who has malaria, it sucks some blood, which contains microscopic parasites. The mosquito may bite another person and inject the parasites into his or her blood. This person may then fall sick with malaria depending on the person’s immune system.
Malaria is not contagious. However, since the parasite can be found in red blood cells of an infected person, malaria can be transmitted through blood transfusion, sharing of needles and organ transplant. Malaria can also be transmitted from a pregnant mother to an unborn baby.
SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSTICS
Persons who have been infected by the malaria parasite may begin to experience symptoms of malaria usually about 10-15 days. Some common symptoms include high fever, shaking chills, flu, nausea, vomiting and tiredness.
Furthermore, malaria my lead to jaundice and anaemia due to the loss of red blood cells. Untreated malaria infection may cause seizures, mental confusion, coma and even death.
Malaria can be diagnosed through a test where one’s blood sample is examined under a microscope. The aim of the test is to investigate the presence of malaria parasites.
PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
Malaria is preventable and curable. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the following measures to treat malaria and also to prevent being infected;
In Ghana for instance, malaria is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality especially among children under 5 years old. As of 2016, malaria prevalence was estimated at 21%. Approximately 20,000 children are lost to malaria every year in Ghana.
REFERENCES
Information from the WHO, CDC, https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/malaria-symptoms and Yankson, R., Anto, E.A. & Chipeta, M.G. Geostatistical analysis and mapping of malaria risk in children under 5 using point-referenced prevalence data in Ghana. Malar J 18, 67 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-019-2709-y was used in this report
