Disease Assignment – year 10 – 2012 Research Task and Oral Presentation.

What is the disease? The disease that I am researching is called Malaria. Malaria is a mosquito-born disease in humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the infection plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of parasites within red blood cells.

What is the cause of the disease? The cause of the disease Malaria is by protozoan parasites that can be transmitted by the sting of the Anopheles mosquito or by a contaminated needle. The disease comes from the multiplication of parasites within red blood cells.

It is 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.

It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including much of Africa, Asia and America. But mainly it is the poorer countries that suffer. This is because they can’t afford the simple protection and cure for the disease. It then becomes serious because they don’t have doctors to monitor it and innocent people die because they don’t have money.

some symptoms include fever and headache, constant chills, fever, sweats, muscle aches and a headache that you get every few days. There can also be vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing, and discoloured skin and eyes. People with severe falciparum malaria can develop bleeding problems, shock, kidney and liver failure, central nervous system problems, coma, and die.

There are different types of malaria and some are more harmful then others, therefore there are many different treatments. Mild malaria can be treated with oral medication such as Chloroquine Phosphate. This is the main drug of choice for all malaria parasites except for chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium infections.

Yes, Malaria can be cured. You can take medication to prevent it and you can take medication to get rid of it and its quite easy to monitor. Malaria is usually treated by using combinations of two or more anti-parasite drugs mixed into pills that are taken before infection or during infection. More serious infections are treated by special anti- parasitic drugs in the hospital, which are then monitored by a doctor.

The impacts of disease on society is that people that catch an infection that have a full time job can give it to other people so they may need to take time off work. If people take time off work then production may drop a little and then they won’t make as much profit. In countries where malaria is common, average GDP per person has risen by only 0.4% per year, compared to 2.4% per year in other countries like Australia.

Babies, children, and pregnant females, along with patients with no immunisations are at higher risk for worse illness when infected with malaria. To reduce the chance of getting malaria, people should avoid malaria known areas, use insect repellents, cover exposed skin, and use netting when sleeping. Most patients recover with no problems, unless infected with P. falciparum or P. knowlesi, which may have poor outcomes unless treated immediately. Babies and children under 5 years of age, pregnant females, and those with poor immune systems frequently have a poor recovery unless treated early in the infection.

Poverty is both cause and effect, since the poor do not have the money to stop or treat the disease. The lowest income group in Malawi carries the burden of having 32% of their yearly income used on this disease compared with the 4% of household incomes from developed countries. In total, the economic impact of malaria has been estimated to cost Africa $12 billion USD every year. The economic impact includes costs of health care, working days lost due to sickness, days lost in education, decreased productivity due to brain damage from cellular malaria, and loss of investment and tourism.

Bibliography: Science dimensions 4.