Malaria
New treatment could tackle preventable causes of death for newborns in sub-Saharan Africa
Clinical trials are urgently needed to test a new treatment that could jointly tackle leading causes of death for babies in sub-Saharan Africa, according to researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 15, 2012 |
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Malaria discoveries could pave way for new therapies
(Medical Xpress) -- Half the world's population is at risk for contracting malaria. The deadly disease, spread by hungry mosquitoes that bite humans for their blood meals, affects more than 200 million people ...
Medical research
May 14, 2012 |
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Preventable infectious diseases caused almost two-thirds of global child under-5 deaths in 2010
In 2010, preventable infectious diseases were responsible for almost two-thirds of the 7.6 million deaths of children under five worldwide, according to new estimates published Online First in The Lancet. Although child ...
Health
May 10, 2012 |
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Strides made in diagnosing, treating lupus
(HealthDay) -- Sometimes it takes years for people to get diagnosed with lupus. That wasn't the case for Marisa Zeppieri-Caruana, who had so many of the classic systemic lupus erythematosus symptoms -- such ...
Immunology
May 10, 2012 |
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Creating a new weapon in the fight against malaria
Over 200 million people contract malaria each year, and according to the World Health Organization, an estimated 655,000 people died from malaria in 2010.
Medical research
May 08, 2012 |
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Block its recycling system, and cancer kicks the can: study
All cells have the ability to recycle unwanted or damaged proteins and reuse the building blocks as food. But cancer cells have ramped up the system, called autophagy, and rely on it to escape damage in the face of chemotherapy ...
Cancer
May 08, 2012 |
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Cutting calories before cutting in surgery
Dietary restriction has already been shown to extend the lives of laboratory animals, but recent research suggests the beneficial effects of eating less may extend to improved recovery from surgery and better ...
Health
May 08, 2012 |
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Millennium Villages project shows coordinated efforts can accelerate progress towards MDGs and beyond
The Millennium Villages Project aims to co-ordinate improvements across multiple sectors in health, agriculture, the environment, business, education, and infrastructure in villages in sub-Saharan Africa. New research published ...
Health
May 07, 2012 |
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Biosignatures distinguish between tuberculosis and sarcoidosis
With a range of diseases, doctors need unique features which they can use to unequivocally identify a patient's illness for an appropriate diagnosis. Scientists therefore search for the biomarkers for an illness or a combination ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 07, 2012 |
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New treatment for malaria tertiana
Malaria tertiana is the form of malaria that science needs to focus on in more detail in future. These are the words of Harald Noedl from the Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine ...
Medical research
May 03, 2012 |
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Game on! Researchers use online crowd-sourcing to diagnose malaria
Online crowd-sourcing in which a task is presented to the public, who respond, for free, with various solutions and suggestions has been used to evaluate potential consumer products, develop ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 03, 2012 |
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Study finds HIV/AIDS funding does not undermine health care services for other diseases
While the battle against HIV/AIDS attracts more donor funding globally than all other diseases combined, it has not diverted attention from fighting unrelated afflictions -- such as malaria, measles and malnutrition -- and ...
HIV & AIDS
May 03, 2012 |
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New study finds dengue fever costing nearly $40 million in US territory of Puerto Rico
As public health experts warn that the spread of dengue fever could prove more costly globally and cause more sickness than even malaria, a new report published today in the May issue of the American Journal of Tropical Me ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 03, 2012 |
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Global Fund to Fight AIDS to slash over 100 jobs
The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria said Wednesday it is cutting over 100 jobs, in an overhaul after a rough financial period and a scandal in which millions of dollars went missing.
HIV & AIDS
May 02, 2012 |
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Nicotine vaccine prevents nicotine from reaching the brain
If smoking a cigarette no longer delivers pleasure, will smokers quit? It's the idea behind a nicotine vaccine being created by MIT and Harvard researchers, in which an injection of synthetic nanoparticles ...
Addiction
May 02, 2012 |
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Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases progressing to coma or death. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
Five species of Plasmodium can infect and be transmitted by humans. Severe disease is largely caused by Plasmodium falciparum while the disease caused by Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium malariae is generally a milder disease that is rarely fatal. Plasmodium knowlesi is a zoonosis that causes malaria in macaques but can also infect humans.
Malaria transmission can be reduced by preventing mosquito bites by distribution of mosquito nets and insect repellents, or by mosquito-control measures such as spraying insecticides and draining standing water (where mosquitoes breed). Despite a clear need, no vaccine offering a high level of protection currently exists. Efforts to develop one are ongoing. A number of medications are also available to prevent malaria in travelers to malaria-endemic countries (prophylaxis).
A variety of antimalarial medications are available. Severe malaria is treated with intravenous or intramuscular quinine or, since the mid-2000s, the artemisinin derivative artesunate, which is superior to quinine in both children and adults. Resistance has developed to several antimalarial drugs, most notably chloroquine.
There were an estimated 225 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2009. An estimated 655,000 people died from malaria in 2010, a 5% decrease from the 781,000 who died in 2009 according to the World Health Organization's 2011 World Malaria Report, accounting for 2.23% of deaths worldwide. Ninety percent of malaria-related deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa, with ~60% of deaths being young children under the age of five. Plasmodium falciparum, the most severe form of malaria, is responsible for the vast majority of deaths associated with the disease. Malaria is commonly associated with poverty, and can indeed be a cause of poverty and a major hindrance to economic development.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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