communicable disease - malaria

• what is our communicable disease case study?

  malaria
• how is malaria transmitted?

  tropical vector - borne disease, biologically transmitted by insects (mosquitoes)
• what happens when you have malaria?

  parasites multiply in the liver, then infect red blood cells
• where is malaria most common?

  sub Saharan Africa has the highest concentration. 82% malaria cases and 90% malaria deaths in 2013 occurred in Africa
• who are affected the most by malaria?

  children under 5 years old and pregnant women
• what are the symptoms of malaria?

  fever, headache, vomiting. these usually appear 10-15 days after the mosquitoes bite
• what is malaria caused by?

  parasites transmitted by female moisquitoes, if the mosquito bites a person, the parasite may be injected into a person's blood stream.
• when is malaria transmission at its greatest?

  in areas during and just after the rainy season because mosquitos breed in stagnent water
• what temperatures do parasites thrive in?

  they require temperatures between 16 and 32 degrees c
• how to mitigate against malaria?

  insecticidal nets, indoor residual spraying with insecticide