The World Health Organization says Malawi has become the first country to begin immunizing children against malaria, using the only licensed vaccine to protect against the mosquito-spread disease.
9 hours ago
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Abraham Degarege Mengist is making malaria his mission.
Apr 19, 2019
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Chikungunya virus is rapidly spreading around the world and encroaching into areas already plagued by malaria, which means that more people are falling ill with cases of both mosquito-borne infections. That might sound dire, ...
Apr 18, 2019
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Malawi will on Tuesday spearhead large scale pilot tests for the world's most advanced experimental malaria vaccine in a bid to prevent the disease that kills hundreds of thousands across Africa each year.
Apr 22, 2019
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In 2015, about half of the world's 28 million human deaths were the result of medical emergencies, with the bulk of the burden borne by poorer nations, according to a statistical analysis of information from nearly 200 countries ...
Apr 22, 2019
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In remote, rural corners of Malawi, hospitals are often faced with life-and-death decisions. Women in need of emergency caesarean sections, older people with hernias, and children with appendicitis need surgery. But should ...
Apr 18, 2019
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There are more than 55 million people in India with cardiovascular disease. As India considers a national Essential Diagnostics List, University of Michigan researchers Lee Schroeder and Ahmad Abdul-Aziz take a deep dive ...
Apr 18, 2019
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A global team of researchers, led by a research team at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), are calling for a review of drug-based strategies used to prevent malaria infections in pregnant women, in areas where ...
Mar 26, 2019
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An analysis led by ISGlobal identifies African regions where ivermectin administration to livestock would have the greatest impact on malaria transmission. The results, published in Scientific Reports, point to West Africa, ...
Apr 09, 2019
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Scientists have identified a way to provide more detailed information on malaria transmission both locally and across borders, according to two new papers published today in eLife.
Apr 02, 2019
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(HealthDay)—The drug artesunate—the World Health Organization-recommended first-line treatment for severe malaria—will become the first-line treatment for severe malaria in the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease ...
Mar 29, 2019
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Researchers have provided the first evidence that mass drug administration (MDA) can grant community-level protection against Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) malaria.
Apr 16, 2019
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Between 2015 and 2017, 624 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets were distributed, mostly for free, to reduce malaria, severe disease and death in regions of the world where malaria is endemic.
Apr 10, 2019
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People in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have started trying to rebuild their lives after the devastation wrought by Cyclone Idai. Southern Malawi and Mozambique were already reeling when the cyclone hit: these areas were ...
Apr 12, 2019
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A coalition of researchers, health organisations and patient groups on Wednesday launched an ambitious campaign to cure hepatitis B, a disease that kills twice as many people as malaria but gets far less attention.
Apr 11, 2019
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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 licensed under CC BY-SA
