How does the disease spread?
Malaria is spread by female mosquitoes. The parasite which causes malaria is found in the female mosquito’s saliva. When a person is bitten by a female mosquito, the parasite enters the bloodstream via the mosquito’s saliva.
However, there are also other ways for malaria to be spread. A pregnant woman can pass malaria onto her baby. Someone using a needle that has been used by a person with malaria can infect that person. Having a blood transfusion from someone who has malaria can also pass it on to someone else. (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_malaria_spread#ixzz1l2uPVH7f)
The overall trend is that the countries affected by malaria have a retreated to the southern hemisphere, whereas the threat of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia and South America has remained constantly high.
How has the disease affected a country of your choice in particular? (Kenya)
Kenya is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator; bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania and has a land area of 580,000 km2 and a population of nearly 41 million. With crude birth rate; 39.22 per 1,000 people, where only 38% of the population have access to sanitation.
Kenya is severely under risk from malaria; which is having drastic impacts on the country and its entire population.
This map of Kenya shows that nearly all of Kenya is at high risk from malaria, except from the area surrounding Kenya’s capital; Nairobi, which is at low to no risk from malaria.
The most likely reason is that the majority of the economic wealth is concentrated at Nairobi, as it is the central business district of the country (urban). Therefore better antimalarials (e.g. malaria nets) are more readily and easily available, reducing the risk of malaria.
Whereas, the rest of the country is more rural, and therefore poorer, due to the heavy reliance on agriculture as a source of income. This means that the average family will not be able to afford such items, therefore will be under a higher risk of malaria and also death from malaria, as they will not be able to afford the necessary treatment.
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Impacts of malaria in Kenya:
Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Kenya.
- 25 million out of a population of 34 million Kenyans are at risk of malaria.
- It accounts for 30-50% of all outpatient attendance and 20% of all admissions to health facilities.
- An estimated 170 million working days are lost to the disease each year.
- Malaria is also estimated to cause 20% of all deaths in children under five.
- The most vulnerable group to malaria infections are pregnant women and children under 5 years of age.
- The total fertility rate in Kenya is estimated to be 4.49 children per woman in 2012
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Life expectancy is estimated at between 47 and 55 years.
( & Wikipedia..Com)
Management of Malaria in Kenya:
However, the disease is trying to be managed using several methods;
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Vector control using insecticide treated nets - Fifteen million nets were distributed between 2001 and 2009. insecticide treated net use by children under 5 years rose from 4.6 percent in 2003 to 50.2 percent in 2006 after a free mass insecticide treated net distribution targeting 3.4 million children under five.
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Epidemic Preparedness and Response (EPR) - This approach is intended to improve epidemic preparedness and response by establishment of malaria early warning systems and carrying out preventive measures such as the Indoor Residue Spraying campaigns.
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Information Education Communication - This strategy is to better arm the public with malaria preventive and treatment knowledge.