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WHAT MALARIA LOOKS LIKE > UNDER A MICROSCOPE AND AROUND THE WORLD (PHOTOS BY THE CDC, AGENCY)
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Approximately 3.3 billion people live in areas where malaria is a constant threat. There are an estimated 250 million cases of malaria each year. Nearly one million people die from malaria each year, mostly children younger than five years old. Although the vast majority of malaria cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa, the disease is a public-health problem in more than 109 countries in the world, 45 of which are in Africa. 90% of all malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Mosquitoes lay their eggs in the form of egg rafts that float in still or stagnant water. The mosquito lays the eggs one at a time sticking them together in the shape of a raft. An egg raft can contain from 100 to 400 eggs. The eggs go through larval and pupal stages and feed on micro-organisms before developing into flying mosquitoes.
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Standing water is where the life cycle of the mosquito begins. Marshes, mangrove swamps, rice fields, grassy ditches, puddles, barrels or pails of dirty water, rivers and streams all provide mosquitoes with environments in which the adult female can lay her eggs. In the space of just 5–14 days, the eggs hatch to become algae-feeding larvae, then develop into pupae – which like the larvae must come to the water’s surface often to breathe – before the adult mosquito emerges.
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Microscopic magnification shows Plasmodium falciparum—the most virulent of the four malaria parasites that infect humans—destroying red blood cells in the liver. It digests a cell's hemoglobin, multiplies inside to the point of rupturing the cell, and rapidly spreads a new generation of infection.
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Safe inside the blood of the human carrier, the life cycle of the malaria parasite in the human body begins when a mosquito freshly hatched from the pupal stage of its own life cycle takes a blood meal. Most adults in endemic areas have a degree of recurring long-term infection – as well as partial immunity – aiding the spread of the disease. Meanwhile, those affected by severe malaria can suffer consequences ranging from enlarged spleen or liver to kidney failure or worse.
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The parasites multiplying in red blood cells brings on symptoms of anaemia like light-headedness and shortness of breath, plus other symptoms including chills, vomiting and waves of fever. In severe cases, coma and even death may follow, while children especially are vulnerable to brain damage. The lethal P. falciparum parasite makes infected blood cells stick to blood vessel walls to prevent their being destroyed in the spleen, which can cause fatal blockages to major organs.
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Typical incubation time for malaria is 7 to 30 days. The fever is generally irregular. If the attack is not treated, after a few weeks a regular fever pattern will develop with peaks every 2 days. At the beginning of the attack the symptoms are similar to influenza: general malaise, tiredness, muscle pain, headache but in general without respiratory tract problems or runny nose. After a while the muscle pain and headache become worse. Sometimes there is also abdominal pain and diarrhea. At first cold shivers with high fever occur, followed by an intense feeling of heat and fever, leading to a sweating stage with a drop in fever.
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Malaria costs an estimated $12 billion in lost productivity in Africa. When insecticide-treated nets are used properly by three-quarters of the people in a community, malaria transmission is cut by 50%, child deaths are cut by 20%, and the mosquito population drops by as much as 90%. It is estimated that less than 5% of children in sub-Saharan Africa currently sleep under any type of insecticide-treated net.
