Malaria
Malaria is an infectious disease that is caused by a parasite (Plasmodium). Although the parasite can be spread by blood transfusions and dirty needles, it is mainly spread by mosquitoes. A mosquito that bites an infected person
sucks up the parasites and becomes infected. This infected mosquito then bites a healthy person who in turn becomes infected. The parasites first travel to the liver where they grow to their next stage of development. After a few days, they leave the liver and flow into the bloodstream where they multiply and attack red blood cells. The symptoms that occur between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite are usually fever, headaches and vomiting. There are different forms of malaria. The most serious form of malaria is Malaria Tropica (caused by the Plasmodium Falciparum parasite), and can result in death. If the patient is not treated with drugs or the parasites are resistant, the infection can result in coma, severe anaemia and even death. The malaria patient dies when the red blood cells become infected and are destroyed and the capillaries that transport blood to the brain become obstructed – cerebral malaria. Every year, 250 million new cases of malaria and 1 million deaths are reported worldwide.
Malaria is especially devastating in Africa where an African child dies of malaria every 45 seconds. A lot of children who survive severe malaria have permanent brain damage or learning difficulties. Pregnant women and their unborn children are particularly vulnerable to malaria, which – during pregnancy – can result in the baby's death or premature birth, a low birth weight and anaemia in both the mother and the baby. And this despite the fact that malaria can be prevented. A lack of resources and favourable climate conditions for the malaria mosquito have made this disease one of the leading causes of death among African children.
In addition to the human toll, malaria wreaks significant economic and social havoc: sick children can't go to school, tourism suffers and foreign investors are few and far between. It is estimated that Malaria costs the African economy 12 billion dollars a year, which, in endemic countries, results in 1.3% less economic growth compared with other countries without malaria. Malaria is a problem that sustains itself because it robs society of the human and economic resources needed to get the disease under control. The disease disproportionately affects the poor who cannot afford a mosquito net or do not have access to the right treatment when they fall ill.
