Malaria Statistics for Rwanda

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QUESTION:

What are the malaria statistics in Rwanda?

ANSWER:

The following statistics are taken from the World Health Organisation (www.who.org):

  • Approximately 90% of Rwandans are at risk of malaria.
  • Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Rwanda responsible for up to 50% of all outpatient visits.
  • In 2005, Rwanda reported 991 612 malaria cases.
  • In 2006, malaria was responsible for 37% of outpatient consultations and 41% of hospital deaths, of which 42% were children under five.

Characteristics of Adult Mosquitoes

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QUESTION:

What are the characteristics of adult anophelines and culicines?

ANSWER:

I am assuming your question relates to how adult anopheline and culicine mosquitoes can be differentiated from each other. There are a number of main characters that can be used for identification to genus level, namely in the resting position of the body (and the resultant angle of the proboscis to the ground), the pattern and colour of the wing veins and the relative length of the palps (these are sensory organs located on either side of the proboscis).

Specifically, adult anophelines tend to rest with their bodies at an angle to the ground (head down, body up), whereas culicines tend to rest roughly parallel to the ground. The colouration of the wing veins of anophelines is usually arranged in “blocks” of pale and dark scales, whereas culicines tend to have all-dark scales, or a scattered mixture of pale and dark scales. Finally, if you compare the adult females (all female mosquitoes have non-plumed antennae which contrast very obviously with the males’ plumed antennae, allowing the sexes to be easily differentiated), the palps of the female anophelines are almost as long as the proboscis, whereas they are relatively much shorter in culicines. Both sets of males have palps almost as long as the proboscis, but the tips are swollen in male anophelines whereas male culicines are not, but may have some distal hairs.

Pf Malaria Mortality Statistics

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QUESTION:

What are the number of deaths in malaria pf case?

ANSWER:

“pf” stands for malaria that is caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. It is the most severe form, and responsible for the most number of deaths globally. It is estimated that around 700,000 people died last year from malaria; of these, approximately 90% would have been due to Pf malaria.

 

Plasmodium Vivax Shows Malaria Infection?

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QUESTION:

If there is Plasmodium Vivax present, then is the patient infected with malaria or not?

ANSWER:

Yes! Plasmodium vivax is one of the several different species of malaria that can infect humans and cause disease. The other main species found in humans are Plasmodium falciparum, P. ovale and P. malariae.

Can malaria affect the liver and stomach?

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QUESTION:

Can malaria affect the liver and stomach? I had two attacks of P. falciparum few years back. Now I doubt there is some swelling under my right rib bone. Please clear my doubt.

ANSWER:

Malaria can certainly affect many of the organs in the body, including the stomach and liver. This is due to the sequestration (attachment) of red blood cells to the tiny blood vessels in these organs, and is especially common in infections with P. falciparum. Given the large amount of blood that flows through the liver, this is a common organ to be affected by malaria, and can often seen to be swollen during the infection. However, it is unusual for the enlargement to persist after treatment, and so I would recommend you visit your doctor or hospital to check out any residual concerns you might have.

What does the word “malaria” mean?

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QUESTION:

Where does the name MALARIA come from?

ANSWER:

It comes from Medieval Italian, “mala aria,” meaning “bad air”, reflecting the early belief that bad-smelling air caused the disease. Indeed, bad-smelling air was also associated with swamps and marshes, which are perfect habitats for the breeding of malarial mosquitoes, so the people who came up with the association were actually on to something!

Malaria Blood Work

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QUESTION:

What means smear for malaria – value 1?

ANSWER:

In most cases, I would suggest this means a positive result, though the exact meaning of that depends to some extent to the type of blood test it was. You mention a smear; to me, that implies that the test used traditional microscopy to look for red blood cells infected with malaria parasites. In this case, a result of 1 would indicate that one infected red blood cell was observed, meaning the patient is positive for malaria, although with a light infection (at least at that point in time – especially if the patient had falciparum malaria, the intensity of the infection can increase very rapidly). Otherwise, blood can be used in malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), which look for antibodies to malaria in the patient’s blood. In this case, the test result can sometimes be denoted by a binary value: in other words, 0 indicates negative and 1 indicates positive.

It is very important to find out from your doctor or clinic exactly what kind of test they ran and what the results mean, to ensure that correct and effective treatment is administered as quickly as possible.

Malaria in Saipan

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QUESTION:

Should I worry about Malaria while in Saipan for 1-2 months? I leave soon and would like to know if I should be vaccinated.

ANSWER:

The first thing I should say, which is crucially important, is that THERE IS NO VACCINE FOR MALARIA! There are, however, many other ways of effectively ensuring that you do not get infected when travelling to or living in malaria transmission areas. In any case, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) considers the Northern Mariana Islands (including Saipan) as free from malaria, so you probably don’t need to worry about asking your doctor about preventative medicine, which you should certainly do if travelling to a highly malarial zone. There are certainly various mosquito species present on the islands, however, and so it might still be beneficial to take precautions against getting bitten, such as wearing insect repellant and long-sleeved clothing, especially at dawn, dusk and at night.

Vomiting During Malaria

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QUESTION:

How can I reduce vomiting during malaria?

ANSWER:

The most important thing to do when suffering from malaria is to get diagnosed promptly by a doctor or clinic and then receive appropriate treatment. This is the quickest way to reduce symptoms of the disease, such as vomiting, as well as prevent progression of the disease. Once treatment has begun to be administered, your doctor or nurse may also be able to give you medication to reduce nausea and vomiting, but you should certainly consult with medical professionals before taking any other medication while being treated for malaria.