Even as the world's battle against the mosquito-borne
infectious disease malaria continues to yield impressive gains, it has also
been encountering new obstacles that intimidate the progress achieved so far.
Hence, it is crucial for the funding from all possible sources to be doubled,
to solidify the achievements and thus strive towards the elimination of malaria
from as many countries as possible.
According to the World Malaria Report for 2014, issued by
the World Health Organization on Dec. 9, the mortality rate from malaria fell
by 47 percent worldwide between 2000 and 2013 and by 54 percent in Africa,
where about 90 percent of malaria deaths occurred. In 2013, two countries,
Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka, reported zero indigenous cases for the first time and
11 others succeeded in maintaining zero cases. The progress was accredited
chiefly to more widespread use of insecticide-treated bed nets, accurate
diagnostic tests and effective drug therapies.
Malaria
Malaria is caused by a parasite that enters blood through the bite of an infected mosquito. It is characterized by fever, vomiting, shivering, sweating and other symptoms.
With most of the improvement occurring in 2007, there was a decline of almost 60 percent in malarial deaths in children under age five between 2000 and the end of 2013. And the mortality among children is expected to keep dropping sharply with the various measures taken.
Malaria - Waterborne
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives general information about About Malaria Causes
With the Ebola epidemic threatening West Africa, the progress on malaria may also be affected because of which the W.H.O calls the gains in curbing the disease as "fragile." Public health facilities have focused solely on Ebola in the hardest hit three countries, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which has killed hundreds of their health workers because of which access to malarial treatments has fallen sharply in these countries. Hence, the W.H.O has recommended that anti-malarial drugs should be given to all patients with a fever, without waiting for a diagnostic test in these areas with high Ebola occurrence.
Even though funding for malarial control and elimination, from international donors and governments, has increased to about $2.6 billion from 2005 to 2013, the global malarial campaign is in need of more money to reinforce and support the health care systems in countries that are too poor to have it done on their own.
Source: Medindia
Mosquito Diseases
Mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria, filaria, dengue, etc are common in places conducive of mosquito breeding. Swamps, ponds and stagnated drainage provide optimal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
 New Herbal Remedy to Fight MalariaRecent research has shown that the powdered dried leaves of Artemisia annua is much more effective in treating malaria than the purified form of the drug artemisinin. | Advertisement
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