Today Is World Malaria Day

TIRUCHI, April 25, 2014 The Hindu

Today is World Malaria Day
By Deepika Muralidharan  .
Something as simple as a mosquito bite can lead to the life threatening disease malaria. With World Malaria Day being observed on April 25, here is some information that one should be aware of, to prevent and control the spread of the disease.

World Malaria day was instituted in 2007 by WHO with the aim of highlighting the need for continuous investment and political commitment for malaria control and elimination. The theme for 2013-2015 campaign is: “Invest in the future. Defeat malaria”.

According to WHO, malaria kills an estimated 6,27,000 people every year. In 2013, 97 countries had ongoing malaria transmission. Malaria is caused by a parasite called plasmodium, which is transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitoes.

While malaria can affect everyone, persons who are at high risk of getting infected are those with low immunity. These include children aged below five, pregnant women, especially in their first trimester, and those infected with HIV/AIDS, according Dr. S. Srinivas, general practitioner, Vijaya Hospital.

Identifying the symptoms is the first step in curing the disease. “Cardinal symptoms of malaria include periodic chills, shivering and headache followed by fever and sweating and usually appear within 10 days after a mosquito bite,” says Dr. M.A. Aleem, vice principal, K.A.P. Viswanatham Government Medical College. The disease can be diagnosed by a blood examination or a kit called the rapid card test, says Dr. M.S. Ashraf, member, Tamil Nadu Medical Council.

“There are multiple species of the parasite that cause malaria and identifying the species that caused the disease is of primary importance in treatment. This is difficult, especially in rural areas, unless a proper sample is taken at the proper time. In such situations, a well trained microbiologist or pathologist is the only one who can do the tests correctly,” he says.

“Timely intervention helps in prevention of the deaths due to malaria. Prevention is always better than bottled cure,” says Dr. Aleem.

So how does one prevent the disease? Malaria can be contained by controlling the breeding of mosquitoes, which spread it. “An important step to be taken is to prevent stagnation of water in and around dwelling places. For children, special care must be taken by dressing them in full sleeved clothes while travelling, especially in buses and using a blanket while sleeping,” said Dr. Aleem. The female anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, is most active during dawn and dusk and one has to be extra careful at these times, according to Dr. Srinivas. He said that use of insecticide treated nets helps to reduce malaria by 50 percent and is effective up to 100 metres of its surroundings. Indoor residual spraying of insecticide also helps to control the mosquitoes.


P. Revathi, District Malaria Officer (DMO) in charge, rattles down some statistics: “In 2013, the Tiruchi district had 63 cases, all of which were from persons in nearby districts,” she said.