Case study of infectious disease - malaria and its effects on Kenya.

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Case Study of Infectious disease: Malaria

What is the disease, and where did it originate?

Malaria is a tropical disease spread by night-biting mosquitoes. When a mosquito infected with malaria parasites (plasmodia) bites you, it injects the parasites into your body.  (http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/malaria/Pages/Introduction.aspx)

The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within , causing symptoms that typically include  and , in severe cases progressing to  or . It is widespread in  and subtropical regions, including much of , , and the .  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria)

The specific data of where malaria originated from is unknown; but Malaria has been infecting humans for at least 500 million years, and may have existed as a pathogen in other species for even longer. For this reason it is impossible to know where the first cases of malaria appeared. While the earliest references to a malaria-like illness come from China that is by no means an indication that malaria originated in Asia. (http://www.malariasite.com/malaria/history_parasite.htm)

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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 ...

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A very good over view of Malaria, particularly focused on Kenya. The case study incorporates useful data and references it. To improve further, more detail about the breeding grounds and the reasons for the differences in the prevalence of the disease across the country would have been valuable. 4 stars