Anuska Sen, Team BioXone
The World Health Organization (WHO) celebrates World Malaria Day on April 25 every year to bring together people all around the globe to bring up new solutions to reach a malaria-free world.
Cause of Malaria:
Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease, the causative agent of which is a parasite of the Plasmodium group (such as Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae). The disease is transmitted from one infected person to the other by the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito.
Symptoms of the disease:
Patients who suffer from malaria commonly exhibit the following symptoms.
- Fever and flu-like illness
- Chills and severe headache
- Muscle pain, or overall body pain
- Tiredness and fatigue
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea (sometimes)
Though not very common, some patients may develop anemia and jaundice also, due to the loss of RBCs.
The theme of World Malaria Day 2022
The theme for World Malaria Day 2022 is “Harness innovation to reduce the malaria disease burden and save lives.” According to WHO, at present no such effective technology exists which can single-handedly eradicate malaria in the near future. Hence, there is a dire need for innovation in this field, so that such technologies can be brought up. For instance, innovative solutions are needed to improve the existing situation for malaria diagnosis all over the world, for the development of more effective medications (anti-malarial drugs), insecticides to control the spread of mosquitoes, etc.
The Global scenario of Malaria
Although malaria can be easily prevented, and further can be treated if diagnosed correctly, there still continues to be innumerable fatal cases due to malaria, all around the globe. As per WHO, ~241 million new malaria cases, and 627,000 malaria-related deaths in 85 countries have been reported in 2021. Especially in certain highly populated countries of the sub-Sahara African region, very slow progress has been noticed in the efforts to eradicate malaria.
Malarial Vaccine
In October 2021, the World Health Organization released the first-ever malarial vaccine for broad use among children. The vaccine, known as RTS,S/ AS01 (sold under the brand name Mosquirix) is a recombinant protein-based vaccine. The vaccine has been shown to be effective to such as extent that it is able to minimize malarial-related deaths and the severity of the disease by ~70%. Hence, the WHO is currently stressing the expansion of the administration of the RTS,S vaccine among children.
Also read: Anti-COVID drugs more efficient than antibody drugs against omicron variant
References:
- World Health Organization. (2022). World Malaria Day 2022. https://www.who.int/westernpacific/news-room/events/detail/2022/04/25/western-pacific-events/world-malaria-day-2022
- Centers for Disease Control and prevention (2022). About Malaria. https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/faqs.html#:~:text=Symptoms%20of%20malaria%20include%20fever,loss%20of%20red%20blood%20cells.
- Davies L. (2021). WHO endorses use of world’s first malaria vaccine in Africa. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/oct/06/who-endorses-use-of-worlds-first-malaria-vaccine-in-africa
- Thumbnail credits: The thumbnail image has been drawn by Tamanna Mazumder, Class V, Adamas International School
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