World
Malaria Day
It's World Malaria Day today (WMD). WMD is a day set aside
by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness of the mosquito-borne
disease and assess efforts to prevent, treat, control, and eliminate the
disease, which caused 602,020 deaths in Africa last year, according to the WHO.
'Harness innovation to lower the malaria disease burden and
save lives,' is the subject of WMD 2022. Experts are concerned, however, that
despite its efforts to combat malaria, Nigeria loses about $1.1 billion (N645.7
billion) per year in illness prevention and treatment, as well as other costs.
Malaria killed 200,000 Nigerians in 2021, according to
experts, and infected 61 million more, according to the experts. They also
stated that over half of all malaria deaths occurred in Nigeria, the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Tanzania, and Mozambique.
Despite the success of the new malaria vaccine, they claim
that no single instrument is now available to solve the problem of malaria.
They concluded that controlling and eventually eliminating
malaria will necessitate a combination of techniques, including the use of
existing control and prevention measures as well as the creation of new
instruments.
In order to accelerate progress against malaria, the WHO has
urged investments and innovation in new vector control measures,
diagnostics, anti-malarial drugs, and other instruments.
Despite steady progress in lowering the global burden of
malaria between 2000 and 2015, WHO said that progress has slowed or stalled in
recent years, particularly in high-burden countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and
that urgent and concerted action is needed to put the world back on track to
meet the global malaria strategy's 2030 targets.
According to the WHO, Africa was home to 95 percent of the
estimated 228 million infections last year, with 602,020 deaths documented. It
went on to say that six African countries, which are the hardest hit by
malaria, are responsible for up to 55 percent of global infections and 50
percent of deaths. This is a decrease from the anticipated 627,000 deaths and
241 million cases in 2020.
In her message to mark this year's World Malaria Day, WHO
Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said the theme aligns with
calls to urgently scale up innovation and deployment of new tools in the fight
against malaria, while advocating equitable access to malaria prevention and
treatment, all while building health systems.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Moeti claims that
considerable advances in malaria prevention and control have been made in the
past year. "WHO announced landmark recommendations on the use of the first
malaria vaccine, RTS,S, late last year.
"This vaccine will be used to prevent malaria in children
aged six months to five years who reside in areas where malaria transmission is
moderate to high," Moeti explained.
"Four African nations accounted for just over half of
all malaria deaths globally," according to the 2016 World Malaria Report:
Nigeria (31.9%), Democratic Republic of Congo (13.2%), United Republic of
Tanzania (4.1%), and Mozambique (3.8 percent). Malaria was found to be present
in 303 incidences per 1,000 people in 2019.
"Nigeria is responsible for roughly 31.9 percent of
worldwide malaria mortality, or about 200,000 deaths in 2021. Over 60 million
people get infected each year, costing the economy an estimated US$1.1 billion
in lost productivity and absenteeism."
The presence of a vaccine, according to a team of Nigerian
researchers led by Prof. Boaz Adegboro of Nile University of Nigeria's
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology and Prof. Oladapo Ashiru of
Medical ART Centre, Mayland, Lagos, may not be enough to eradicate malaria
because the vaccine is only about 39% effective at first dose and efficacy
wanes with time.
Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, College
of Health Sciences, Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and Department of
Medical Microbiology, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching
Hospital, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, are also members of the research team.
WHO approved the RTS,S malaria vaccine for young children
living in areas with moderate to high malaria transmission in October 2021. The
advice was based on the findings of a WHO-coordinated pilot program that has
touched over 900,000 children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi since 2019.
The vaccine is safe, easy to administer, and reduces lethal
severe malaria, according to data and experience from the program. RTS,S is an
example of workplace innovation as well as a scientific achievement, as it is
the first vaccine approved for use against any human parasite illness.
"It is unlikely that malaria will be eliminated without the vaccine," Adegboro said, "because there has not been a significant
reduction in morbidity and mortality in recent years, especially in areas where
malaria is endemic, despite the preventive and treatment measures that have
been in place for years." Although people in endemic areas develop illness
immunity as adults, they are not immune to infection, and so the parasite's
propagation is unavoidable.
"It's unlikely that malaria will be eradicated without
a vaccine," Adegboro said, "since there hasn't been a significant
decline in morbidity and mortality in recent years, especially in
malaria-endemic areas, despite years of preventive and treatment
measures." People in endemic areas develop disease immunity as adults, but
they are not immune to infection, allowing the parasite to spread.
Prevention
measures for malaria
Malaria prevention now relies on two methods:
chemoprophylaxis and mosquito bite protection. Several malaria vaccines are in
the works, but none are currently available.
Chemoprophylaxis
Malaria chemoprophylaxis is exclusively available in Europe
for visitors to malaria-endemic countries, who are divided into three (or four)
groups to decide which medicine is best for chemoprophylaxis. The medications
prescribed are determined by the travel destination, the length of probable
vector exposure, parasite resistance patterns, the degree and seasonality of
transmission, as well as age and pregnancy. Depending on the endemicity level
and seasonality of transmission, chemoprophylaxis may be suggested for
autochthonous small children and pregnant women in endemic countries.
How to
protect yourself from mosquitoes naturally
Malaria transmission occurs predominantly at night due to
the nocturnal feeding habits of most Anopheles mosquitoes. Mosquito bed nets
(ideally insecticide-treated nets), long-sleeved clothing, and the use of
insect repellent to exposed skin are all effective ways to avoid mosquito
bites. The type and concentration of repellents are determined by the
individual's age and status.
Mosquito
control methods
The effectiveness of vector
control strategies is determined by the vector species, mosquito biology,
epidemiological context, cost, and population acceptability. The major current
measures are centered on reducing mosquito-human interaction, killing larvae
through environmental management and the use of larvicides or mosquito larvae
predators, and killing adult mosquitos by indoor residual spraying and
insecticide-treated bed nets.
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