Malaria: An Epidemiological Overview
Distribution: Environmental risk factors
Because of malaria's mode of transmission (through Anopheles mosquito bites), it is an almost exclusively tropical disease. "Temperature is particularly critical. For example, at temperatures below 20°C (68°F), Plasmodium falciparum (which causes severe malaria) cannot complete its growth cycle in the Anopheles mosquito, and thus cannot be transmitted" ("Where malaria occurs," 2010). But where the parasites can complete their growth cycle, wherever the Anopheles mosquitoes can survive and multiply, so do incidents of the disease. Prevalence and intensity is highest where the mosquito can breed year 'round in regions nearest the equator -- particularly in sub-Saharan Africa ("Where malaria occurs," 2010). In some tropical and subtropical countries, prevalence has been reduced because the disease cannot be transmitted at higher altitudes, during colder seasons, in deserts (mosquitos prefer humid climates), and also because of government mosquito control programs ("Where malaria occurs," 2010).
Distribution: Social factors
The fact that control programs have significantly reduced or eliminated the prevalence of malaria in many tropical and subtropical regions highlights the fact that environmental conditions alone cannot explain the prevalence of outbreaks. In the southern United States, for example, malaria used to be a threat until a public health campaign designed to eliminate the disease through appropriate control measures was successful. With the creation of the U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) during the New Deal, however, a program for controlling malaria in the region was established. From a disease that affected 30% of the population when the TVA was incorporated in 1933, thanks to control operations by 1947 the disease was eliminated...
Malaria Prevention Among Children in Africa The objective of this study is to examine malaria prevention among children in Africa. Malaria is the third biggest killer of children on a global scale and is a disease that is completely preventable and treatable, and according to UNICEF this makes all deaths due to malaria unacceptable. (2013, paraphrased) The primary cause of the death of children under the age of five years of
In the earlier times, malaria was a big issue in the North America, Europe and some areas of northern Asia. The geographic distribution could still be offset by the shift in population mobility and climatic changes. Plasmodium falciparum is the most dominant species in the world while the P. Ovale dominating the sub-Saharan region of Africa, and P. vivax found in the other remaining regions according to Parasites and
Infectious Disease and Nursing Interventions: In the past few years, the world has gained more awareness regarding health conditions, especially in light of the numerous changes in the environment that cause changes in the microbial population. While the awareness has increased, there are some infectious diseases that have become common in today's world. Actually, these diseases continue to spread rapidly throughout the world, which necessitates global surveillance for the emerging infections
Epidemiological Study on Influenza Malaria The study hypothesized that in a population with high risk of developing complications, there is bound to be a high incidence of severe cases and lethality of type A influenza (Lera et al., 2011, p. 372). The study population is the children attended to at the University Hospital Vall d'Hebron which is a third-level center in Barcelona. The facility serves a population of 45,000 and attends to
Care of Cancer Cancer has overtaken HIV / AIDS and malaria to top the list of headaches for medical departments and policy makers alike. In 2012, cancer claimed a massive 8.2 million lives, with breast, colorectal, stomach, lung, and liver cancers accounting for more than three-quarters of these. Alcohol and tobacco use, lack of physical activity, low vegetable and fruit intake, and high body mass index have been found to
According to the CDC, United states was once a malaria-endemic country until 1951 when malaria was eliminated in the country. Currently, approximately 1,500 cases of malaria and five deaths are reported annually in the US mostly by returning travelers (Ramasamy, 2014). Globally, malaria is widespread in over 100 countries mostly the less developed tropical areas of Asia, Latin America, and Asia. It is estimated that malaria kills about 1 million
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