CAN MOZZIE PATCHES HELP IN
THE FIGHT AGAINST MALARIA?
Progress has been made in the fight against Malaria, but hundreds of thousands of people still die from it each year.
We're contributing to the fight with our all-natural mosquito patches.
WHAT IS MALARIA?
Malaria is a tropical disease caused by a parasite that mosquitoes carry. It spreads between humans through infected mosquitoes' bites. When a person gets Malaria, they can present with a high fever, chills, shaking, and feeling very sick.
In countries with temperate climates, one won't commonly encounter Malaria. Subtropical and tropical climates are an ideal breeding ground, and in countries with these climates, many people get infected or die due to Malaria.
The Anopheles gambiae complex mosquito often causes high numbers of transmission in an area. The Plasmodium falciparum genus of mosquito, however, is the species most likely to cause severe Malaria that can lead to death. It is known as the predominant catalyst.
Other than the breed of mosquito, the weather influences the spread of Malaria as well as the breeding patterns of mosquitoes. Scarce resources or socio-economic instability often result in malaria control measures that aren't as effective as they could be.
HOW IS MALARIA DIAGNOSED?
If you're in an area considered a high risk for Malaria and you feel sick, you might have Malaria. If a doctor thinks you do, they will determine your diagnosis based on the symptoms you present with, where you live, and where you have travelled.
Some doctors take a blood sample and check it under a microscope. Malaria parasites are visible inside the infected red blood cells. If Malaria is very common in a country, doctors may not even do laboratory tests before treating patients on the suspicion of Malaria. This is especially true when patients have high fevers with no known cause.
HOW TO TREAT MALARIA
Patients being treated for Malaria receive antimalarial drugs or medication intravenously, by injection, or by mouth. Your treatment may take place in a hospital with IV medicine and support or as an outpatient, depending on the parasite and the severity of symptoms.
Sometimes patients can acquire comorbidities like anaemia and dehydration. Other complications could affect the spleen, kidneys, and brain. If a patient needs extra care such as fluids and help with breathing, they will be hospitalised.
HOW IS IT IMPACTING THE WORLD?
It's hard to say for sure how many people in an area have had Malaria without extensive testing. This is because its symptoms are so similar to the symptoms of other infections and diseases. Even so, many organisations, government projects, and overseas programmes have, with effort, measured infections in certain areas to help give us a clearer picture.
Around 409,000 people died from Malaria in 2019, most of them young children living in sub-Saharan Africa. This number represents a 40% reduction in deaths since 2010! In the last 20 years, we have seen a reduction in the number of Malaria cases in Africa and subsequently the number of deaths.
These results are only possible because of the extensive malarial preventative measures being taken around the World in high-risk areas. Millions of lives have been saved by scaled-up projects intervening with preventative and curative measures.
HOW TO PROTECT AGAINST MALARIA
Some of these measures include simple things, like wearing a long-sleeved shirt and trousers. World health programs have distributed anti-malaria drugs and chemical-covered bed nets broadly. In Africa, there is even a pilot vaccine being developed.
If you want to protect yourself against Malaria, it is important to take these steps:
1. Get anti-malaria medication and take it as prescribed. Some antimalarial drugs should be taken before a trip, while others are prescribed daily or to be taken after your trip. If you are unsure about when to take the medicine, we suggest speaking to your GP. This medication alone is no longer a 100% assurance that you'll be safe. Many of the parasites that cause Malaria have developed drug resistance to common antimalarial drugs, so extra measures are vital.
2. Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants. Covering more skin means giving mosquitoes fewer openings to get in a bite.
3. Use mosquito repellent products such as the Mozzie Patch to keep mosquitoes away. Remember to stick to the efficacy times before reapplication.
4. If you are travelling in a high-risk area, using a mosquito net with no large holes is also a great idea. Mosquito nets are large nets that hang from the ceiling above a bed, encircling it with a netting shield that mosquitoes can't penetrate.
WHAT ARE THE HIGH-RISK AREAS FOR MALARIA?
In poorer subtropical and tropical countries, Malaria is often a leading cause of death and sickness. In these countries, children and pregnant women are the most vulnerable due to lower immune responses.
In other countries, Malaria isn't a leading cause for death, yet substantial amounts of people become infected and incapacitated by the disease. Right now, about half of the world's population lives in a high-risk area, in around 87 countries or territories! The below map shows areas considered high risk, low risk, and medium risk.
CAN MOZZIE PATCHES HELP IN THE FIGHT AGAINST MALARIA?
Yes, Mozzie Patches can help, but they should not be used as the only measure of protection against Malaria. Our patches can contribute to your protection, but it is important to take other measures too, as our patches cannot guarantee that you will not get Malaria.
Even the most effective chemicals in the World cannot stop ALL mosquito bites for ALL people. They may have up to a 90% effifficacy rate. This is because mosquitoes may respond differently to different people, and different bodies may have different chemical make-ups influencing the results. It is important, therefore, to take all the precautions you can if you are living in or travelling to a high-risk area.
FURTHER READING
