– By May Ubeku

“Why attitude? What’s new about malaria? Why do I need to be reminded about malaria? I know the medications to take when I have malaria. What more?”.

Do you know; …In Nigeria malaria kills 300, 000 people per year, while HIV/AIDS kills 215, 000 people per year?

Over the decades, malaria has ravaged the continent of Africa due to its geographical location in the tropical zone which makes it habitable for mosquitoes to breed, resulting in the transmission of malaria. Millions of Africans suffer and die from malaria yearly, especially children. Recent World Health Organization (WHO) statistics indicate an ample number of people are at risk of the disease globally with the larger percent living in Africa. The crippling socio-economical effect of malaria on the Africa continent remains its burden.

Malaria affects 3.3 billion people in 106 countries and territories. WHO estimates that 219 million cases of malaria occurred globally in 2010. 81% of these cases occurred in the African region, with 660, 000 victims killed every year. About 90% of malaria deaths are from Sub-Saharan Africa. 86% of malaria deaths that occur in Africa,  were children under the age of five. 1 in every 5 children in Africa dies from malaria. 1 African child dies of malaria every 30 seconds. A pathetic fact!

Six countries account for an estimated 103 million  malaria cases; Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique and Cote d’Ivoire. In Nigeria, 97% of the population are at risk. The remaining 3% population live in the malaria free highlands. There are an estimated 100 million malaria cases with over 300, 000 deaths per year in Nigeria. This compares with 215, 000 deaths per year in Nigeria, from HIV/AIDS.  If malaria kills as many people as HIV/AIDS does, the demand to change our perception and attitude towards the disease to reduce its burden on the Nation, is primal. 

Malaria is the second leading cause of deaths from infectious diseases in Africa, after HIV/AIDS. Malaria, especially common in Sub-Saharan Africa, is an infectious disease caused by the parasitic protozoan Plasmodium, which can only be transferred by the female Anopheles mosquito. There are four parasitic protozoans which cause malaria: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium vivax. Of these parasites, Plasmodium falciparum is the most dangerous and can cause coma or death. Malaria is spread when the mosquito bites a person who is already infected. The parasites from the blood uptake reproduce in the mosquito and the next time the mosquito bites another person, parasites are transferred.

After a mosquito bite, the person will notice symptoms of  high fever, chills, vomiting, and nausea and they don’t appear until 10-15 days after the initial mosquito bite. Malaise, loss of appetite, headache, weakness, rigor, sweating, joints and body aches are also signs of malaria infection. If untreated, complications such as cerebral malaria, anaemia, coma, convulsion, splenomegaly, renal failure and extreme weakness may occur. In Pregnant women, malaria related complications may lead to abortion, low birth weight, preterm birth or still birth.

Despite the global burden of malaria, The Roll Back Malaria initiative created by WHO acknowledges that community-based effort is essential to combat malaria. Malaria control/elimination is achieved by maintaining a healthy lifestyle of cleaning your environment. A lot of people till date have not adopted the habit of cleaning the drains (gutters) attached to their homes. They think it should be clean for aesthetic reasons. Poor sanitation enables mosquitoes to breed enormously. A  proper household sanitation of both indoor and outdoor is needed. Fumigate your house and environment. A well fumigated environment may last up to four months and will prevent mosquitoes from residing in your immediate environment. Empty containers and damaged motor tyres that could hold water to facilitate breeding should be discarded. Remove weeds and grasses from your environment. Put screens on doors to prevent mosquitoes from entering the home. Use indoor residual insecticide spraying (IRS) and sleep under long lasting insecticidal bed nets (LLINS) every night, which provide protection while sleeping, using an insecticide net is the foremost prevention. Currently, the United States in partnership with other organizations launched a fight against the spread of malaria. In particular, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the World Bank instigated the Booster Program for Malaria control. This program began in 2005 with the goal to halve the burden of malaria in 20 focus countries in Africa by 2010. This program is based on providing prevention and control strategies to the local people. One method that has proven effective is the insecticide- treated net. Statistics have shown that if 75% of the people in a community were to use insecticide-treated nets properly, mosquito population drops by 90%, transmission is reduced by 50% and child deaths are reduced by 20%. Medications can also be taken as prophylaxis to prevent having a malaria infection. In addition, pregnant women should take the recommended intermittent preventive treatment (IPT). In the absence of adhering to preventive  measures, early case detection and prompt treatment is essential.

Although malaria is preventable and curable, misuse of antimalarial drugs over the past century led to parasitic resistance to these malaria medications leading to rising cases of resistant malaria. Currently, WHO recommends Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) as a first-line drug to treat uncomplicated malaria. Despite the National policy of ACT as the first-line treatment of uncomplicated malaria, MIS 2010 indicates that over 70% of children treated for malaria in Nigeria received chloroquine or SP. Avoid self- medication, visit the local Primary Health Centres (PHC) or see your Physician and adhere strictly to the recommended treatment. Also ensure medications are properly taken and the doses must be completed.

Although vaccination would successfully reduce and stop the spread of malaria, WHO is currently working to approve a new malaria vaccine, and the vaccine is said to only provide immunity for children. While we wait, have a positive change of attitude to STAY HEALTHY!