MALARIA

As salaamu alaikum warahmatullaahi wabarakaatuhu brothers and sisters in eemaan

We send salutations to best of creation and Allaah's most beloved messenger  محمد صلي الله عليه وسلم , his household, his companions and all rightly guided ummah.

Alhamdulillaah for Allaah granting us the opportunity to be counted among the living, not because we are better than the deceased but Allaah's own will to give us life. We are indeed thankful to  الله عزوجل for His mercies upon us.

Our presentation today is on MALARIA

We shall look into  statistics of malaria, what malaria is, causes, complications, diagnosis,  treatment etc.

In shaa Allaah

It looks like *malaria* is not any disease to talk about right?

FACTS ABOUT MALARIA

3.5 million people contract malaria every year.

Approx. 20,000 children die from Malaria

every year (25 per cent of the deaths of children under the age of five). Even if a child survives, the consequences from severe malaria such as convulsions or brain dysfunction can hamper long-term development and schooling.

UNICEF Ghana Fact Sheet- July 2007

Over a quarter of all young child deaths in Africa occur due to malaria. Pregnant women and their unborn children are particularly vulnerable to malaria, as a result of low birth weight and maternal anaemia. Hope brothers and sisters in eemaan are with us?

Infants born to mothers with malaria are likely to have low birth weight – the single greatest risk factor for death during the first months of life. Malaria kills one child every 30 seconds, about 3,000 children everyday. Malaria prevalence among children under age five has decreased from 27 per cent to 21 per cent. This is according to the 2016 Ghana Malaria Indicator Survey which was conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and the National Malaria Control Programme.

Results of the survey also showed that malaria prevalence among children varies throughout the administrative regions of Ghana, ranging from 5 percent in Greater Accra to as high as 30 and 31 per cent in Central and Eastern regions respectively.

Malaria is one of the dangerous diseases which kills almost one million people every year and afflict about half a billion people globally. Africa accounts for about 90% of this.

 

Report from World Malaria day-2012

Malaria is one of the leading causes of illness in Ghana and the primary cause of morbidity and mortality, accounting for over three (3) million outpatient visits to public health facilities annually. It occurs all year round and affects a large proportion of the population. In 2009 reported cases attributed to malaria among children under five years were 48.9%. Among pregnant women the proportion was 11.5%.

Hope brothers and sisters in eemaan are with us?

Malaria is caused by plasmodium parasites. The parasites are spread to people through the bites if infected Anopheles mosquitoes called malaria vectors, which bite mainly between dusk and dawn. Malaria is hyper endemic, accounting for 44.5% of all outpatient attendances and 12 % of under-five mortality in Ghana.

Malaria is a major cause of absenteeism from schools and from work.

Malaria causes high rates of miscarriage (up to 60% in P falciparum) and maternal death rates of 10-50%.

What is Malaria?

Malaria is hyper endemic, accounting for 44.5% of all outpatient attendances and 12 % of under-five mortality in Ghana.

Malaria is a disease which is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium passed from one human being to another by the female Anopheles mosquito. These parasites are so small that they can only be seen with a microscope.

Malaria is transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes. Many species of Anopheles mosquitoes can be found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Human being serves as hosts to the malaria parasite in that the parasites live, grow and multiply in the liver and bloodstream of man. The disease –carrying mosquitoes are also known as vectors. This means that they carry the parasite from one person to another person.The most common form of the malaria parasite found in Ghana is called the Plasmodium Falciparum. There are other forms of malaria parasites but the Plasmodium Falciparum is the most dangerous and causes about 95% of all malaria cases in Ghana. Malaria can be classified as either uncomplicated to complicated (severe).

How's malaria transmitted?

Malaria is transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes. Many species of Anopheles mosquitoes can be found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Human being serves as hosts to the malaria parasite in that the parasites live, grow and multiply in the liver and bloodstream of man. The disease –carrying mosquitoes are also known as vectors. This means that they carry the parasite from one person to another person.

Malaria transmission is a cycle. When the mosquito bites a person with malaria, it sucks up a mixture of blood and malaria parasites into its stomach. The parasite takes several days to develop inside the stomach of the mosquito. The mosquito then bites another person and passes the parasite through its saliva into the next person thus infecting the new person. The parasite then live ,grow and multiply in the person’s blood destroying the red blood cells and make the person very ill, causing the fever and weakness people experience when they get malaria.

According to the 2015 World Malaria Report, there were 214 million cases of malaria recorded globally in that year.

Ghana recorded 4,940, 270 suspected cases of malaria in the first half of year 2016. Thus on the average, approximately 26,922 suspected cases of malaria were recorded daily in the country’s health facilities during the period.

According to the WHO, although considerable progress has been made in the fight against malaria, the burden of the disease is still very high, especially in Africa, with the region accounting for 80% of the global malaria cases in 2015.

 

Symptoms of Malaria

The symptoms of malaria typically develop within 10 days to four weeks following the infection. In some cases, symptoms may not develop for several months. Some malarial parasites can enter the body but will be dormant for long periods of time. Common symptoms of malaria include:Shaking chills that can range from moderate to severe

high fever

 

⛔ Profuse sweating

 

⛔ Headache

 

⛔ Nausea

 

⛔ Vomiting

 

⛔Abdominal pain

 

⛔ Diarrhea

 

⛔ Anemia

 

⛔ Muscle pain

 

⛔ Convulsions

 

⛔ Coma

 

⛔ Bloody stools

The above upon being noticed does not mean one has to quickly rush to the *licensed chemical seller for malaria drugs

The idea of "I know myself when I get malaria so I quickly get myself a medication" is bad. We need to see our doctor first to diagnose us before any prescription. Otherwise we may be doing harm to our system through drug abuse.

Diagnosis of Malaria

If you have symptoms of malaria, your doctor may order blood tests to confirm your diagnosis. These tests will show:

➡ Whether you have malaria.

➡ What type of malaria you have.

➡ If your infection is caused by a parasite that’s resistant to certain types of drugs.

➡ If the disease has caused anemia

if the disease has affected your vital organs.

Life-threatening complications of malaria

Malaria can cause a number of life-threatening complications. The following may occur: Swelling of the blood vessels of the brain, or cerebral malaria.

 

🔺An accumulation of fluid in the lungs that causes breathing problems, or pulmonary edema.

🔺 Organ failure of the kidneys, liver, or spleen

anemia due to the destruction of red blood cells.

🔺 Reduction in blood glucose levels.

 

Treatment of Malaria

Malaria can be a life-threatening condition, especially if you have P. falciparum.

Treatment for the disease is typically provided in a hospital. Your doctor will prescribe medications based on the type of parasite that you have. In some instances, the medication prescribed may not clear the infection because of parasite resistance to drugs. If this occurs, your doctor may need to use more than one medication or change medications altogether to treat your condition. Additionally, certain types of malaria, such as P. vivax and P. ovale, have liver stages where the parasite can live in your body for an extended period of time and reactivate at a later date causing a relapse of the infection. If you are found to have one of these types of malaria, you will be given a second medication to prevent a relapse in the future.

Not to overburden you,  we shall pause here.

Thank you very much for your time and patience.

We shall meet some other time in shaa Allaah.

Kindly pardon our mistakes. May Allaah forgive us all.

Wassalaamu alaikum warahmatullaahi wabarakaatuhu.