Malaria is paracitic disease, carried by mosquitos. It attackes the body by mutlipying in the liver and then infecting the red blood cells. The most deadly species is the Plasmodium Falciparum parasite and is most commonly carried by the female Anophleses mosquito. Sadly this is also the most common species. There were an estimated 212 million cases of malaria in Africa in 2006. 91% of all malaria deaths occur in Africa with approximately 801,000 malaria related deaths in 2006. 85% of these deaths were children under the age of five. That means an estimated 680,850 children under the ago of five died in Africa alone. |
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There are a wide range of solutions available for the prevention and treatment of malaria. Perhaps the most effective and imediate prevention of malaria is the widespread use of mosquitos nets. These long lasting nets are treated with insectisides and hung over a bed to protect the occupants whilst sleeping at night. A time when mosquitos are most active. Indoor residual spraying of insecticides also helps to keep mosquitos out of buildings and help to protect the people inside. The development of Artemisinin-based combination therapies, or ACT's, now allows more effective treatment of malaria within patients. ATC's combine multiple antimalaria drugs together. It is believed that this combination of drugs significantly slows parasitic resistance to treatment. They are also far more effective than tradition mono-theropies. Killing the existing parasites faster and purging more eggs from a patient than previous treatments. |
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