Malaria Mariana Rangel Ana Paula García

What is it? Malaria is caused by an infection of the red blood cells with a tiny organism or parasite called a protozoa. There are four important species of the malaria protozoa and each has a slightly different effect. Malaria is preventable and curable.

Transmittion Malaria is transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, when it bites an infected person, the mosquito sucks up blood containing the parasite, which may then be passed on to the mosquito's next victim.

Approximately half of the world's population is at risk of malaria

Symptoms The main symptom of malaria is a fever that occurs in regular episodes, with sweating and shivers and exhaustion. In some cases, it can affect the brain or kidneys.

Patterns Africa is the hot spot for malaria in general. Geographical distribution now is increasingly the result of human intervention. Climate Temperature

It kills more than a million people a year - mostly young children in sub-Saharan Africa - and is a factor in many other deaths

Human effort Cities, agriculture and transportation. The perfect environment

Preventing Malaria Using effective insect repellent Wearing long sleeves and full-length trousers Staying in accommodation with screen doors and closing windows Sleeping with bed nets

Applications of barriers to limit the spread of the disease Human side (vaccine), expensive Efforts to control environmental factors (such as working to eliminate the low spots where pools of water collect during the rainy season, or applying locally grown plant materials to limit the growth of mosquitoes ), rely on local effort. Neem tree, reduce to 50%

Factors that enable the reduction of the disease Increased malaria prevention and control measures are dramatically reducing the malaria burden in many places. Malaria mortality rates have fallen by more than 25% globally since Indoor residual spraying is the most effective way to rapidly reduce malaria transmission

Management strategies The best available treatment is artemisinin- based combination therapy (ACT). Malaria mortality rates are falling. Early diagnosis and treatment reduces disease and prevents deaths. It also contributes to reducing malaria transmission

New and improved diagnostics are essential for the effective control of malaria. Currently, the most reliable technique for diagnosing malaria is using microscopes to analyze blood smears.

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