Malaria is transmitted by the bite or injection of a female Anopheles mosquito. The mosquito needs human blood to meet its cyclical reproductive demands. In return, it releases its saliva into the human bloodstream. Africa bears 80% of the global malaria burden, of which Nigeria accounts for about 29% along with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In Nigeria, it is responsible for 60% of clinic outpatients and 30% of hospital admissions, 11% of maternal deaths, 25% of infant deaths and 30% of infant deaths 5 years. These are very significant figures, but they become even more serious as we move away from malaria-endemic regions like Nigeria. The dying wish of a white male from the United States visiting Nigeria or any of the sub-Saharan countries for the first time is to demand to sleep outdoors in a mosquito-infested swamp without at least one mosquito net. He may soon need to start writing his death will.
So who are the most affected here? Pregnant women, children under 5 years of age, severely malnourished children, people whose body soldiers (the immunocompromised) have become excessively weak, and the elderly due to age-related decline in their immune systems.
In the past it was thought that malaria was caused by stress, being in the sun for too long, bad air (mal meaning bad and aria meaning air), eating too many fatty foods and, oddly enough, consuming too much papaya and oranges!
It may interest you to know that mosquito bites are not the only means by which malaria transmission often occurs. A mother can also pass the baton to her unborn child, in which case it is called congenital malaria. Another means of transmission is the transfusion of infected blood to uninfected people.
HOW DO I KNOW IT IS MALARIA?
Many times, we have all had a good experience of what it feels like to have malaria, however, there are other medical conditions that can present like malaria, for example, typhoid fever, flu or rhinitis, therefore the proper diagnosis is just as important as proper treatment. We don’t want to end up filling a perforated basket with our expensive fruit juice. In many remote locations where sophisticated equipment is not used to diagnose malaria, it relies solely on the physician’s judgment and interpretations of the symptoms presented by the patient. These symptoms include fever, which is of high grade and occurs mainly at night, headache, chills and chills (vigorous shaking from feeling cold), vomiting, and prostration due to general weakness of the joints and muscles. In severe cases of malaria, the patient may become anemic, vomit profusely, have hypoglycemia (very low blood sugar to less than about 4mmol/L), go into shock, have kidney failure, breathing problems, and sometimes , abnormal bleeding. If you are not sure whether it is malaria, do not start treating typhoid fever without confirmation by rapid diagnostic test (RDT) or microscopy for the presence of malaria parasites. The Widals test should be performed repeatedly to confirm typhoid fever.
MALARIA PREVENTION
Let’s start with our environmental sanitation practices, regular drainage evacuations, elimination of mosquito breeding sites, proper waste management, puncturing cans before disposal, filling identified breeding sites with sand, and flood control strategies.
Next, we must make use of the available LTMNs (Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets) or ITNs (Insecticide Treated Nets). Another alternative is the use of IRS (indoor residual spray) where the walls and ceilings of our houses are sprayed 3-4 times a year with insecticides. For pregnant women IPTp (Intermittent Preventive Treatment) is the way to go in addition to the above mentioned measures. There are other methods to prevent malaria besides those not mentioned here.
TREATMENT FOR MALARIA
Malaria treatment is usually a 3-day course modality. However, make sure you are treating malaria by performing an RDT or microscopy to determine the presence of the malaria parasite. Any modern health center near you should have these facilities. Get proper advice from the doctor on what kind of medicines you should use, what works for Mr. A might not necessarily work for Mr. B. Most of the medicines available in your pharmaceutical outlets are ACT (based combination therapy). in artemisinin). Severe cases of malaria may require admission with immediate medication/IV (intravenous) drip. Do not throw the tablets under your bed or in the pit latrine as malaria often relapses when not treated properly, this is for those who despise using drugs!
