Is Malaria a Mosquito STD?

by

QUESTION

Is Malaria a type of STD for mosquitoes?

ANSWER

No. Mosquitoes pick up the malaria parasite from feeding on the blood of infected humans. Since only female mosquitoes feed on blood (the males feed on nectar), male mosquitoes never get infected with the malaria parasite. The life cycle of malaria in the mosquito is also completely different than in humans, and mosquitoes have a completely different physiology and immune system to humans, so it cannot be said that they get the same disease as we observe when people get infected with malaria.

Structure and Size of Malaria

by

QUESTION

What is the structure and size of malaria?

ANSWER

Malaria is caused by a single celled protist of the genus Plasmodium. It undergoes a complex life cycle, involving two separate asexual reproductive stages in the vertebrate host (including humans) and sexual reproduction as well as multiplication in the insect vector (all human malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes). As such, the parasite undergoes much structural and cellular change during its lifecycle, including to its size.

In terms of structure, most of the infectious stages of Plasmodium consist of a nucleus (which contains DNA, the cell’s genetic material), a mitochondrion (used for respiration and thus producing the energy for the cell), microtubules (for moving proteins and other molecules) and an apicoplast, which is a organ unique to this group of single-celled parasites which is thought to be implicated in the invasion of host cells. The surface of the organism is covered in different proteins, some of which are used for binding to target host cells.

Malaria in Africa

by

QUESTION

How many in Africa have been affected by Malaria?

ANSWER

In 2010, there were approximately 174 million cases of malaria in Africa. However, some people may present with more than one case of malaria per year (especially young children), so the number of people affected is likely considerably lower. However, 90% of deaths from malaria occur in Africa, and 60% in just six countries: Nigeria, DR Congo, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Cote d’Ivoire and Mali. The good news is that malaria mortality has dropped by 33% in Africa since 2000, which is a very encouraging trend, though the aim of organizations such as Malaria No More is to fully eliminate deaths from malaria globally by 2015.

Malaria Statistics in South Africa

by

QUESTION

What are the statistics of malaria in South Africa from 2002-2011 for males and females?

ANSWER

It is difficult to find statistics across time that are detailed enough to distinguish between the sexes. However, I have found a website collates information about malaria in southern Africa specifically, and this link will take you to a figure on that site which shows the number of cases for three regions of South Africa for almost the last 20 years: Malaria in Southern Africa.

Another source to look at is the World Health Organisation World Malaria Report from 2011, which for the first time, presented information on malaria cases and deaths from 99 individual countries. The website for that report, which can be freely downloaded can be accessed via this link: WHO World Malaria Report 2011.

Malaria Vaccine

by

QUESTION

Is there a vaccine for malaria?

ANSWER

No, as of yet there is not a vaccine available for malaria. The most promising vaccine candidate, RTS,S, which has been developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is currently undergoing Phase III trials in Africa. The trial is not due to finish until 2014, so we will have to wait until then to know how effective it is. Preliminary results, published last year, suggested that it may prevent up to 50% of malaria cases in young children, though the long term protection level is not known. Other age groups will also have to be analyzed, as well as the effect of the vaccine on malaria mortality levels.

Malaria in Limpopo, South Africa

by

QUESTION

In which year did malaria spread in Limpopo?

ANSWER

Malaria has likely been in the southern part of Africa for many hundreds, if not thousands, of years. In recent times, control initiatives have been in place in areas of malaria transmission in South Africa since 1945, reducing the incidence of malaria in many places. Other than that, this paper, freely accessible via the Malaria Journal, reports on the incidence, number of cases and number of deaths reported as caused by malaria between 1998 and 2007: Gerritsen et al., 2008. In addition, this site, by the South African government in Limpopo, contains more information about malaria in the area: Limpopo Malaria Control Program.

Malaria Pills Taken with Other Drugs

by

QUESTION

Can malaria pills be taken with other vaccines or medications?

ANSWER

Malaria pills can be taken with most other medications, though this may vary with the type of prophylaxis (medication to prevent malaria) that you take, and there may be some specific combinations which are not recommended, so be sure to consult with a doctor about specific drug interactions. For example, Malarone (atovaquone-proguanil) is known to interact with anticoagulant drugs such as warfarin and aspirin, though depending on the dose it may be possible to take both, as long as the patient is carefully monitored.

If you are planning to travel to a malarial area, you will likely need to get a prescription before being able to get prophylaxis, so you should take that opportunity to talk to the nurse or physician about your specific medications and whether they will interact.

Malaria Statistics 2008-2012

by

QUESTION

What are the malaria statistics for 2008-2012?

ANSWER

Without more information, I am assuming you would like statistics on malaria cases and deaths for 2008-2012. The best data on malaria comes from the World Health Organization, which retrospectively publishes its best estimated for malaria in its annual World Malaria Reports. Each report publishes the figures from the previous year, and the 2012 report has not yet been published, so at this point the WHO can only provide data for 2008-2010. It is also worth mentioning that as more information is collected, past estimates can sometimes be revised, but here I will present the figures from each annual report itself, rather than longer retrospective estimates.

In 2008, the number of cases was estimated at 243 million, with 863,000 deaths. In 2009, the report did not explicitly summarize the number of cases, but reported that deaths were down to approximately 781,000. In 2010, the number of cases and deaths both dropped yet further, to an estimated 216 million cases and 655,000 deaths. Despite these gains, the aim is to work towards a world with no malaria deaths at all by the year 2015, so much control work remains to be done.

First Cases of Malaria

by

QUESTION

What is the first infected person with Plasmodium?

ANSWER

Plasmodium, the single-celled parasite which causes malaria, has been infecting humans since ancient times. In fact, the first written reference to its symptoms dates back almost 5000 years, to an ancient Chinese manuscript! It was also known from the writings of other ancient peoples, such as the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians; when Europeans arrived in the Americas, they found that local tribes had long recognised the dangers of malaria, and already had natural remedies for fever, including the bark of the cinchona tree, which was later used to make quinine (a moden anti-malarial). As such, it is impossible to say now who the first person infected with Plasmodium was, but it definitely occurred many thousands of years ago.

However, it was only until the late 19th century that people understood that Plasmodium parasites caused malaria, and knew how to observe the infection in the patient’s blood. This was done was Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, a French physician working in Algeria. As such, you could argue that the first person known to have Plasmodium was the patient he observed the parasite within, when he first described Plasmodium. Unfortunately, the patient had died of the disease; Laveran examined the blood after the patient had perished. I am not sure the patient’s name was recorded.

Malaria Infectious?

by

QUESTION

Is malaria infectious?

ANSWER

Yes, malaria is considered an infectious disease, though it is very rarely transmitted directly between people, and virtually all of the time must be transmitted via the bite of a mosquito (of the genus Anopheles).

Because part of the life cycle of malaria occurs in red blood cells in the human host, if sufficient amounts of blood are shared between people, for example during a blood transfusion, malaria can also pass between them this way, though screening measures reduce the likelihood of this occurring. Similarly, an earlier part of the life cycle occurs in the liver, so transplant of this organ can also result in transmission.

Finally, malaria is able to pass through the placenta, and so can be transmitted from a mother to her unborn child in this way, or also via blood during childbirth. When a baby contracts malaria from each mother, either via the placenta or during childbirth, it is known as “congenital” malaria.