Malaria

• malaria 


  an infectious, life threatening disease caused by parasites transmitted to people through bites of infected female mosquitoes
• transmission 


  sharing needles, blood transfusion, mother to unborn child, bite from infected mosquito
• symptoms 


  fever, tiredness, vomiting, headaches, yellow skin, seizures, coma, death
• conditions


  • near equator all year round
  • common in rainy season due to damp, waterlogged areas providing mosquito breeding grounds
  • survive between 16-32 degrees Celsius
  • correlated with poor infrastructure and weak health systems
• in 2020 nearly half the world population had malaria
• Malaria lifecycle

  1. lay eggs in damp areas
  2. eggs hatch
  3. female drinks blood from infected human
  4. parasites go to stomach of mosquito
  5. parasites take 12 days to mature.and move to salivary glands
  6. infected mosquito bites human
  7. parasites sucked up from blood stream by another mosquito
  8. another mosquito is infected
• Belize is the 3rd country to be declared malaria free in 2023 after 70 years
• Africa accounts for 95% of deaths and 96% of incidence globally of malaria
• Nigeria accounts for the highest death toll of malaria worldwide
• over 600,000 malaria deaths in 2021
• environmental factors which increase transmission

  • water sources provide breeding grounds
  • poverty causes lack of investment in prevention programmes
  • poor quality housing allows more mosquitoes to enter
  • children under 5 and elderly most at risk
  • more prevalent in warmer temperatures
  • worker near irrigation channels, water sources, open mines
  • coasts and forests have higher humidity so more mosquitoes
  • poor diet and food supply reduces ability to fight infection
  • poor sanitation such as open sewers attracts mosquitoes
  • high population and housing density causes fast transmission
• environmental factors which decrease transmission

  • better education systems and higher levels of literacy leads to more knowledge on prevention
  • not prevalent at temperatures below 16 degrees
  • mosquitoes can't breed at altitudes above 1500m
  • transmission rates fall in areas with rainfall less than 1000mm
• economic impacts


  • accounts for 40% of hospital admissions putting pressure on health systems
  • reduce productivity and attendance at work or school
  • direct costs of $12 billion per year
  • expenses for burial
  • indirect costs of billions of dollars
  • cost to individuals for purchasing drugs and vaccines as well as prevention methods
  • costs to governments for staffing, supply and maintenance
• health impacts

  • reduces productivity and attendance at school and work
  • anaemia and jaundice due to loss of red blood cells
  • 619,000 deaths worldwide in 2021
  • 80% deaths in children under 5 in 2021
  • develop partial immunity reducing risk second time
  • impairs intellectual development
  • fever and flu like illness
  • if left untreated can cause kidney failure, seizures, metal confusion, coma or death
  • infection during pregnancy can cause premature delivery, still birth or low birth weight
• malaria is prevalent in 97 countries
• 40% of the global population are at risk of malaria
• deaths have halved from 1million in 2000 to 500,000 in 15 years