Malaria is an infectious disease caused by the parasites called
Plasmodia. There are five identified species of this parasite causing human malaria,
namely, Plasmodium vivax, P. falciparum, P. ovale, P. malariae and
P. knowlesi. It is
transmitted by the female anopheles mosquito. It is a disease that can be treated in just
48 hours, yet it can cause fatal complications if the diagnosis and treatment are delayed.
It is re-emerging as the # 1 Infectious Killer and it is the Number 1 Priority Tropical
Disease of the World Health Organization.
Known since
millennia, malaria has played a major role in the history of
mankind and it is often said that but for malaria, the history
and geographical demarcations of our planet would have been
different from what we have today. And malaria continues to
wreak havoc on millions, particularly in the poorest parts of
our world.
Malaria is the
fifth cause of death from infectious diseases worldwide (after
respiratory infections, HIV/AIDS, diarrhoeal diseases, and
tuberculosis) and the second in Africa, after HIV/AIDS. |
|
Source:
Malaria and Children. UNICEF
|
According to the World Malaria Report, malaria is prevalent in 108
countries of the tropical and semitropical world (Africa; Amazon,
central and southern America; central, south and SE Asia; Pacific)
that are home to more than half of the world’s people. In most of
these areas malaria is a perennial problem. The estimates of malaria
burden vary; every year, malaria is reported to cause more than
250-660 million infections and more than a million deaths (mostly
among African children). However, the World Malaria Report estimates
that the number of cases of malaria rose from 233 million in 2000 to
244 million in 2005 but decreased to 225 million in 2009. Also
according to this report, the number of deaths due to malaria
decreased from 985 000 in 2000 to 781 000 in 2009.
The goals set by the World Health Assembly and
the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership to reduce the numbers of
malaria cases and deaths recorded in 2000 by 50% or more by the end
of 2010 and by 75% or more by 2015 have not been achieved yet.
Instead, over the past 35 years, the incidence of malaria has
increased 2-3-fold and this continuing upsurge has come from several factors like
the weakening of public health systems in some poor countries,
continuing poverty and political instability, drug-resistant
parasites, insecticide-resistant mosquitoes, global climate change, population movements into malarious
regions, changing agricultural practices including the building of
dams and irrigation schemes, deforestation etc.
In most areas, malaria and poverty co-exist,
with the average GDP and average growth of per capita GDP in
malarious countries being about one fifth of those in non-malarious
countries. The economic burden of malaria is huge, estimated to
be $12 billion a year in Africa alone. But the global spending on
malaria control is only meager, with US$ 652 million disbursed in
2007 and US$ 1.7 billion committed in 2009. (In comparison, in the
year 2008, HIV/AIDS accounted for 33.4 million case prevalence, 2
million deaths and a total global spending of US $13.7 billion).
More than 30000 cases
of malaria are reported annually among travelers from developed
world visiting malarious areas. With the shrinking globe,
perennially prevalent malaria, therefore,
remains an ever existing danger for humanity, in every part of the
globe. Distribution of
malaria
Africa
| Asia/Middle East | Australia/Oceania
| Europe/CIS | North/Central America |
South America
See Malaria in India; Malaria
in Mangalore
Further Reading:
|
