MALARIA

To what extent can the factors which lead to transmission of malaria controlled?

To what extent can the factors which lead to transmission of malaria controlled?

Introduction

Malaria is one of the leading causes of death all around the world. The disease is produced when a parasite is transmitted into the human body through a bite of a female mosquito from the Anopheles species. Every year 2.5 million deaths occur because of malaria, out of which 1 million are children. There are four different types of malarial parasite that can infect humans. Out of these four, Plasmodium falciparum is the most virulent. More than 90% diagnosed cases in sub-Saharan Africa accounts for this plasmodium. In addition, there are various other factors which contribute to the virulent of the parasite, which includes the immunity, nutritional status, and the general health of an individual (Steury, 2013, pp. 189-194).

Discussion

Factors leading to transmission and infection of Malaria

The transmission and infection of malaria is enhanced by several factors. These include weather, climate changes, socio-economic factors, general health of the population, sex, age, gender, and many other.

Weather

Malaria parasite present in the female mosquito is very sensitive to temperature. It flourishes in warm and humid environment. For this reason, the surface temperature and amount of rainfall are the two major natural factors the affect the transmission rate of malaria. The weather conditions affect the number of mosquitoes. In several parts of the world, transmission rate varies according to season. Peaks of transmission occur during and subsequent to the rainy season. Based on various studies, we can conclude that malarial transmission and infection is significantly enhanced where the weather is warm and receives a considerable amount of rainfall. Stagnant water, due to rainfall, is a place for the mosquitoes to breed and increase the risk of malaria within the population (WHO, 2013).

Climate change

A strong influence on the transmission of malaria is the environmental temperature (Paaijmansa, 2010, pp.15135-15139). It remains the primary force behind the transmission and infectivity of malaria. For this reason, climate data is often used to study the variation in the transmission rates. Various literatures link the malaria infection to weather fluctuation. Studies prove that fluctuation of temperature affects infectivity of the parasite, the rate of development of parasite, and the mosquito biology. The incubation period of the parasite is very sensitive to temperature. Several weather-models are increasingly used to predict the rates of temperature-based transmission rates (Hoshen & Morse, 2004).

Studies also reflect the climate changes happening around the world, resulting in latitudinal and altitudinal. Many areas, such as Southern Africa, will have a warmer weather in the future, more suitable for malarial transmission (Githeko, 2009, pp.41-44).

Socio-economic factors

Socio-economic status is also an important factor for enhanced transmission of malaria. Literature is available which proves that high socio-economic associated with better collection of water used in the household and piped water to prevent stagnant water. Furthermore, health facilities are also affected by the socio-economic status. Low socio-economic regions tend to have poor healthcare facilities, unable to support ...