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The Fight Against MalariaMosquito Borne Disease Kills Three Million People Every YearMosquito nets and quinine offer little protection from this disease, which is endemic in Zambia.
When travelling to less developed nations in Africa and Asia, malaria is the disease that comes to mind most often. In developed countries we can visit travel clinics and procure the appropriate medication, and buy enough of it so that our supply will last weeks or even months. But the citizens of Zambia are not so lucky. According to last month's edition of National Geographic, malaria is prevalent in 106 countries around the world and Zambia is being hit particularly hard. The most lethal strain of this disease is Plasmodium falciparum which affects the brain, and it causes most of the malaria fatalities. The country is now relying on grant money from around the world to combat malaria, and it's being used to educate the local population about how the illness is transmitted and what to do if symptoms appear. But the disease is proving to be a very tough opponent. Quinine can do very little if the disease is in the advanced stages. Families that have mosquito nets are sometimes using them as fishing equipment, and many people are reluctant to use them because it makes them hot and uncomfortable when sleeping at night (which is when the mosquitoes tend to feed). Many rural Zambians live far away from medical facilities, and if they can get to a place which dispenses medication they lack the money to pay for it. This allows the disease to thrive and kill more people. But there IS hope. A new drug called artemisinin, which comes from the herb artemisia annua is being given to malaria patients and so far the parasites that cause the disease have no resistance to it. Racing against the clock to prevent another mutation, doctors are combining artemisinin and other drugs to form ACT (artemisinin based combination therapy). So far it's the best hope to conquer malaria. One has to admit that the results being produced in Zambia are much more promising than other African nations. Child deaths have gone down by one third. In the 1940s and early 50s malaria was almost eradicated by the use of DDT, and the introduction of chloroquine. Virtually all U.S. citizens were able to see a doctor and the Centers for Disease Control were established in 1946 in Atlanta. The transmission of malaria was stopped in the United States by 1950. But in other parts of the world with thick, impenetrable jungles like India and central Africa, it persisted. By 1969 DDT was banned because it harmed croplands, and much needed foreign aid to third world countries dried up. This, in concert with political instability and widespread poverty allowed malaria to come back with a vengeance, and it was much harder to treat because the parasites built immunity to chloroquine. What if history repeats itself? What will happen if the developed nations of the world withdraw aid money, and malaria once again becomes resistant to ACT? Nobody really wants to answer these questions. If there is one thing that's for certain, it's that malaria has been with us for a long time. Hippocrates documented the stages of the disease. Malaria may have been the reason why the armies of Genghis Khan stopped their westward advance in central Europe (although there is no evidence to prove this one way or another). George Washington suffered from it, and more servicemen in the Pacific battles of World War II died from malaria than from combat. It might the be toughest nut of all to crack.
The copyright of the article The Fight Against Malaria in Diseases/Viruses is owned by Scott Hayden. Permission to republish The Fight Against Malaria in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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