Malaria

1. 00:00 Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease, that affects humans and other animals.
2. 00:07 It causes symptoms that typically include, fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches.
3. 00:13 In severe cases, Malaria can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death.
4. 00:20 Symptoms usually begin ten to fifteen days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
5. 00:26 If not properly treated, people may have recurrences of the disease, months later.
6. 00:33 In those who have recently survived an infection, reinfection usually causes milder symptoms.
7. 00:40 This partial resistance disappears over months, to years, if the person has no continuing exposure to malaria.
8. 00:48 Malaria is caused by single-celled microorganisms of the Plasmodium group.
9. 00:53 The disease is most commonly spread by an infected female, Anopheles mosquito. The mosquito bite introduces the parasites from the mosquito's saliva, into a person's blood.
10. 01:05 The parasites travel in the blood, to the liver, where they mature and reproduce. Five species of the parasite Plasmodium can infect and be spread by humans,
11. 01:16 Malaria is typically diagnosed by the microscopic examination of blood, using blood films,
12. 01:24 or with antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests,
13. 01:28 The risk of disease can be reduced, by preventing mosquito bites through the use of mosquito nets, and insect repellents,
14. 01:36 or with mosquito control measures, such as spraying insecticides, and draining standing water.
15. 01:42 Several medications are available to prevent malaria in travellers to areas where the disease is common.
16. 01:49 Occasional doses of the combination medication sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine, are recommended in infants, and pregnancy after the first trimester, in areas with high rates of malaria.
17. 02:01 Despite a need, no effective malaria vaccine exists, although efforts to develop one are ongoing.
18. 02:09 The recommended treatment for malaria is a combination of antimalarial medications, that includes an artemisinin.
19. 02:16 The second medication may be either mefloquine, lumefantrine, or sulfadoxine pyrimethamine.
20. 02:24 Quinine, along with doxycycline, may be used if an artemisinin is not available.
21. 02:30 It is recommended that in areas where the disease is common, malaria is confirmed before treatment is started, due to concerns of increasing drug resistance.
22. 02:40 The disease is widespread in the Ttropical and subtropical regions, in a broad band around the equator with 216 million cases in 2016, resulting in an estimated 445,000 to 731,000 deaths. Approximately 90% of both cases, and deaths, occurred in Africa.
23. 03:01 Rates of disease decreased by 37% between the years 2000 and 2015, but increased from 2014, during which there were 198 million cases.
24. 03:12 Malaria is commonly associated with poverty, and has a major negative effect on economic development.
25. 03:19 For instance, in Africa, it is estimated to result in losses of US$12 billion a year, due to increased healthcare costs, lost ability to work, and negative effects on tourism.