The Fight Against Malaria

Jannitta Yao

Miss Tompkins

World Lit Honors 1

13 March 2015

The Fight Against Malaria

Malaria is the deadliest parasite in the world. A single, painless bite from just one mosquito can transmit hundreds of parasites into the bloodstream of the victim. The victim does not feel the effects until a few weeks later, and by then, it is too late. Their cells have already begun to break down, causing deadly fevers, comas, and even brain damage. Within days of first feeling the symptoms, the cells in the victim’s body are ravaged (Finkel). Recovery is slim. Malaria infects millions of people every year, and 90% of all deaths occur in Africa (World Health Organization). However, a variety of measures are being taken by African countries to prevent infection. Over the past few years, these measures have drastically lowered the rates of infection and death.

Although there is no vaccine for malaria yet, African countries are taking measures to prevent infection.  In Zambia, the government is fighting malaria with a three-pronged attack. The government is distributing artemisinin, spraying homes with the pesticide DDT, and handing out out mosquito nets. Artemisinin is a drug derived from the bark of the wormwood tree, and can reduce the number of parasites in the victim’s bloodstream(Finkel). DDT and mosquito nets are means of preventing infection, by keeping mosquitoes from finding human skin to feed from during the night. However, these preventions do not work every time, so artemisinin is used when someone is infected. The time window for using antimalarial drugs is short, because the parasite evolves, and develops resistance against the drug, rendering it useless. Even with prevention methods that are not fully reliable, and a drug that malaria will eventually develop resistance to, countries can cut the rates of malaria-caused deaths significantly.

Over the past few years, the number of malaria-infected children in Africa have dropped drastically, due to the help of various aid groups around the world, such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the World Health Organization. In 2008, Ethiopia, with the help of the World Health Organization, attempted to distributing mosquito nets to households with children under the age of 5, and artemisinin to every public clinic. As a result, deaths of children dropped almost 50% (Mcneil). In just one year, the action of the government to prevent malaria had enormous impacts, and the distribution of nets was only to families with young children. If nets were made available to every household, malaria rates would have dropped even more. When comparing the statistics for the year 2000 and 2013, the improvement and distribution of prevention methods is even clearer. In the under-five age group, death rates have declined by 58% in Africa as a whole (World Health Organization). Distributing these prevention and treatment methods in such a vast and diverse continent is not an easy task, so for many children to have survived or to not have been infected with malaria is a major accomplishment in Africa. If Africa keeps this up, and develops better medicines, it is possible that malaria may eventually be eradicated, solving a major issue that has existed for many years.

Despite being shadowed by news of Ebola or terrorist groups, malaria is still a major problem in Africa, with hundreds of thousands dying every year. However, with the development and distribution of new treatments, the death rates of Africans due to malaria have plummeted over time. But we are currently still without a vaccine, and mutations of the parasite resistant to antimalarial treatments and preventions have already emerged, making the quest of scientists to find a vaccine a race against nature. Only time can tell who comes out on top.

Works Cited

"Factsheet on the World Malaria Report 2014." WHO. World Health Organization, Dec. 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2015.

Finkel, Michael. "Bedlam in the Blood: Malaria." National Geographic July 2007: n. pag. National Geographic. July 2007. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.

Mcneil, Donald G., Jr. "Nets and New Drug Make Sharp Inroads Against Malaria." Global Issues in Context. N.p., 1 Feb. 2008. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.