Malaria (Plasmodium falciparum) in sub-Saharan Africa

Introduction

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by the parasitic protozoan Plasmodium, which can only be transferred by the female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria is spread when the mosquito bites into a person who is already infected. The parasites from the blood uptake reproduce in the mosquito and mix with the saliva so that the next time the mosquito bites another person, parasites are transferred.[1]

There are four parasitic protozoans which cause malaria: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium vivax. Of these parasites, Plasmodium falciparum is the most dangerous and can cause coma or death.[2] Symptoms include fever, chills, vomiting, and nausea and they don’t appear until 10-15 days after the initial mosquito bite.[3]

Malaria kills about 1 million victims per year worldwide, 80% of which are from sub-Saharan Africa. 50,000 deaths occur in Zambia alone. 1 in every 5 children in Africa die from malaria, and costs Africa approximately $12 billion per year in lost wages due to debilitating effects of the disease.[4][5] Although malaria is preventable and curable, misuse of antimalarial drugs over the past century led to parasitic resistance to these malaria medications.[6]

Description of Malaria

Description of the microbe

Include a link if there is an existing microbewiki page. Ex. Salmonella typhi

Transmission of disease

How is it transmitted? Is there a vector (animal/insect)?

Why is this disease a problem in sub-Saharan Africa

Do lifestyle/environment/economics/political issues play a role?

What is being done to address this problem

Include anything being done by the local government or groups as well as efforts by non-local groups.

What else could be done to address this problem

Are there solutions that could be successful but haven't been implemented due to political or economic reasons? Are there successful efforts in other countries? Are there reasons why these efforts may or may not be successful in the country you've focused on? etc. etc.

References

[Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500.

Edited by Andy Chen, Alice Nguyen, Kris Vasant, Chirag Yadav, Matthew Hsia, Renu Gaur, and Amreeta Panesar, students of Rachel Larsen

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