Earthwatch – Malaria

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

MALARIA

Malaria is caused by parasites, and when a mosquito carrying malaria bites a victim to suck up the blood, it first injects saliva to prevent coagulation. The saliva contains the infective forms of the parasite (sporozoites). The incubation period following the bite of a mosquito bearing the infection is at least five to ten days – but as long as a year may elapse before symptoms appear.

EFFECTS

The principal symptoms are fever, malaise, chills with sweating, and heart and abdominal pains. Jaundice, and coma sometimes develop rapidly. Generally the severity of the illness is related to the number of parasites in the blood. Sometimes it can include liver and kidney failure, severe anemia and convulsions.

A bite from an infected mosquito in a hot country is not the only way of acquiring malaria. Occasionally mosquitoes hitch a ride in a plane and jump off somewhere like Paris, Rome, Gatwick or New York. A person may develop malaria following the inoculation of infected blood. Drag addicts occasionally transmit malaria when they share a syringe and needle. NOTE: AIDS is NOT transmitted by mosquitoes!

TREATMENT

Treatment by anti-malarial drugs are varied. Resistance of the malarial parasite to drugs is now widespread. Many scientists believe that drug treatment is of little value today, particularly, chloroquine. Others that are used but too may be questionable, are proguanil, maloprim, doxycycline, quinine sulfate and fansidar. Even if one decides to follow an antimalarial regiment carefully, an attack of malaria may still occur, though it is much less likely to be fatal.

Pregnant women are at special risk and should not travel to malarial areas, as malaria is more severe in pregnancy. A woman’s resistance to malaria falls during pregnancy; both mother and fetus may suffer. British research, in a study done in Africa found that pregnant women attract twice as many mosquitoes that can carry malaria as women who are not pregnant, and should take special precautions to protect themselves. Pregnant women are more appealing to mosquitoes because they send out more bug-alluring signals. During pregnancy, women produce a greater volume of exhaled breath. As the baby grows the mother tends to take more frequent breaths, causing her to exhale a “cocktail of chemicals in the breath” that mosquitoes use to zero in on a meal. Also, pregnant women have a little furnace in them -the fetus – so they tend to be hotter, which causes an increase in skin bacteria that attract mosquitoes. This is especially dangerous, because malaria increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth and low-birthweight babies, and it can lead to life-threatening anemia.

In any case one should deliberate on following a drug regimen, and ponder the risk factors seriously without such a program. Consultation with a physician and public health authorities are of the utmost importance before undertaking independent steps in the prevention or cure of malaria, and weighing the consequences of neglect, delay and ignorance.

PREVENTION

a) Outdoors:
Personal protection from insect bites out of doors are also varied and in some ways ineffective, but it is important, nevertheless, to take measures. Perhaps the best protection is a chemical repellent. Apart from the hazard of the disease, insect bites can be a nuisance in some places on the globe. In Howrah, near Calcutta, 500 bites by Culex mosquitoes per person per night (about one a minute throughout the night) are usual, and in such cases visitors would need encouragement to take measures for personal protection. Any chemical should be carefully treated and applied as it can be harmful to some, causing adverse reactions or unpleasantness. Some popular repellants are Deet, DMP, Off, 6/12, and in Australia a mosquito repellent soap has been recently developed. This leaves a residue on the skin that can be washed off with water when no longer required; (sounds great! Maybe the brethren could send me some samples to try on the wary Greek mosquitoes).

These repellents are apparently effective against all free-flying, biting insects. When applied to the skin deet remains effective for only a few hours. But, when impregnated into cotton (not synthetic) material it remains effective for several weeks, especially if the material is kept in a plastic bag or tin when not in use. Clothes can be impregnated with deet; (1 ml deet and 8 ml water per 4g cotton or around 25 ml deet and 200 ml water for an average size shirt). This suspension is more economical by concentrating it in water. Clothes can be sprayed direct, too, with an aerosol deet. Spray clothes in vulnerable areas—ankles, wrists, and neck or impregnate netting.
Buzzers electronically devised are said to simulate the sound of a male mosquito and is a repellent to hungry mated females, but no scientific evidence substantiates its effectiveness. All agree these devices are worthless.

Clothing should be with long sleeves, and long trousers to be worn after dark to minimize risk of mosquito bites. Canvas mosquito boots make it impossible for mosquitoes to bite the ankles. Denim jeans are thick enough to be impenetrable to the proboscis of blackflies, which attack the lower leg (at last a practical use for blue denim jeans!) Blue clothing is said to be very attractive to tsetse flies and should be avoided in those areas of Africa.

b) Indoors:
Personal protection against insects biting indoors, too, are varied, and useful when the “target area” is in a house, cabin or hotel. Tight closing of windows will help, but this can be uncomfortable in a hot climate unless the room is air-conditioned. Air conditioning can be expensive too, and impractical in areas such as the bush or jungles of Africa, where no electricity is available. Ceiling fans, I have found, help to distract the blood seeking flight of insects.

Windows kept open for ventilation should be screened, but this is seldom completely effective in keeping mosquitoes out of rooms, so other lines of defense are needed. Aerosols are good for clearing out mosquitoes that are lurking in a room before one goes to bed, but have no residual effect on mosquitoes that enter later on during the night. The old fashioned and still the most effective way of dealing with these insects is to light a slow-burning, “mosquito-coil” which will smoke gently giving off pyrethrum. It is considered to be ‘safe’, and bums for 6-8 hrs. These are available cheaply in many tropical countries. Tests have shown, however, that some fraudulent brands contain no pyrethrum.

A modern version of the same idea is a small main-operated heating plate that slowly vaporizes a mat containing pyrethroids. These are more effective than the coils, but again, electricity sources may be a problem and mats or tablets may not be available in some parts of the tropics.

Vapona strips slowly give off vapour of the insecticide, dichlorvos without any need for heating.
The vapour emitted by coils, vaporizing mats, or vapona strips kills mosquitos in sealed rooms, but in comfortably ventilated rooms the vapors do no more than repel or stun insects so that they do not bite. So, if on a porch, or tent, or verandah, one should place the source of vapour upwind of those to be protected and at floor level, to deter mosquitoes from ankles.

NETS

Mosquito nets are my favorite; “chemical free” and are the safest way to deter mosquitoes that carry malaria and bite at night. The net must be of good quality, as slippage of the weave would allow mosquitoes to enter. Tears should be repaired or blocked with cotton wool and the net tucked in carefully under the mattress. Don’t sleep with your body against the net, as mosquitoes never miss an opportunity. Rectangular nets are better than “tent” type. Increased security can be had by spraying the nets with permethrin (a pyrethroid) when is effective for several months. When entering the net at night, check for holes, and take a flashlight with you to bed. Nothing is more disturbing an “awakening” than a mosquito trapped inside the net, and its Bzzzzzz. The consolation is that it is easy prey for the sleeper with just a whack between two hands. So. inspect for holes, and again, buy a good quality net.

FIGHTING FOODS

Another favorite of mine and other believers are the herbal oils and extracts, namely cajeput. and echinacea. The food warriors are garlic, cayenne, and ginger, carob, zinc, and kelp (sea-vegetables, anti-bacterial and antiviral), soy, green vegetables, fruits with the color orange, kiwi, strawberries etc.

SWEET GOOD-BYE

Lastly, avoid all simple carbohydrates; that means sugar, and all sugar containing products; fruit juices—bottled or fresh, canned sugar-containing products, all soft drinks, soda pop, ice-cream, cookies, cakes, pies, doughnuts, sugar}’ breakfast cereals, bottled salad dressings, ketchup, mayonnaise, chewing gum. dried fruits, sugar cane, overeating of fresh fruits—especially when over ripe. Remember that mosquitoes love these and those who devour them.

Eat the proper diet, God’s original diet, the “herb of the field”(Genesis 3:18). This was meant for Adam and Eve and for us to eat. Grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables.
Bzzzzzz Got it!! Get it?