Causes and Prevention of Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito borne infectious disease that attacks the liver and the red blood cells. It is a very dangerous disease that is still prevalent in many countries, killing hundreds and thousands of people every year.

Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium that infected mosquitoes carry. The mosquito carrying the parasite is called an anopheles and is found in almost all parts of the world, specially the tropical region.

When an infected mosquito bites a person, the parasite gets transferred to the person’s body infecting him or her. The parasite quickly reaches the lungs and the red blood cells, growing at an astounding rate.

Research says that an uninfected mosquito can also get infected in various ways. It is known that only the female anopheles carries the parasite. When it bites an infected person and sucks in the blood, the parasite also gets transferred in the body, infecting the mosquito. The parasite then is transferred to any human or mammal that the mosquito bites.

This is not the only way that the disease gets transmitted in. Since the red blood cells contain it, the disease also gets transmitted when a healthy person comes in physical contact with contaminated blood. Blood transfusion, organ transfer or use of infected syringes are causes of malaria.

This is why it is preferable to always have the blood tested before going for transfusion and to only use new syringes. Infected blood can be transferred from one person to another person easily.

As mentioned above, the major cause of malaria is the anopheles mosquito. In order to counter malaria, it is important to control the mosquitoes’ population.

America and many European countries have controlled this problem to a great extent by eliminating mosquitoes from their cities, but the problem still exist in many third world countries. Some of the ways to stop the mosquito from reaching you are:

- Keeping the doors, windows and other entrances shut so that no mosquito can enter inside.

- Using mosquito repellants coils or lotions to keep them away form the room and your body.

- Sleeping inside mosquito nets if you cannot stop mosquitoes from entering your room.

If you are in an area with high probability of malaria, have prescriptive medicines with yourself for emergency use. Also, wear full sleeves and pants when you are outside to stop the mosquito from biting you as they normally do not bite on the face.

Keep the environment clean as mosquitoes are more attracted towards damp and dirty areas with stagnant water. Have a healthy environment and a healthy life.