THE MYSTERIOUS MOSQUTIO

MALARIA

INTRODUCTION

Hi my name is Maddi and this is Sophie, we are here to talk to you about Malaria, and what we have researched over the past two weeks at La Trobe university.

1. How has Malaria affected people over time?

2. Why does Malaria affect some people in some places?

3. What will it take for Malaria to be eradicated in the future?

4. What impact does Malaria have on the victim

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How has Malaria affected people over time?

1) Malaria has affected millions of people around the globe. It was first heard of in 2700 BC where several symptoms had been repetitive amongst lots of people, what we didn’t know, was that it is a complicated disease that can affect all parts of the human body. As the population of the world grew so did Malaria, to date 3.3 billion people are at risk of Malaria, which is nearly half of the world’s population. It didn’t take long for this disease to spread worldwide as it kills 1.24-2.7 million people a year. The Malaria parasite is deadly and is caused by an infection with a unicellular parasite of the plasmodium. Malaria doesn’t only affect the victim itself; it can affect everyone around them. People have to be aware of certain countries that they visit because of the possibility of getting Malaria.

Part 2 of Malaria affecting people In some cases it may prevent people going to

certain countries or travelling because of the high risk levels. It also has many impacts on the person’s life style and the communities surrounding them, because if one were ill they were unable to look after their family and or work. It had a flow on effect on social and economic level, if adults were dying and had no income for the rest of the families no one would be able to survive. This is why Malaria needs to be cured as soon as possible because it is wiping out millions each year.

a) What is Malaria?

b) Who suffers from Malaria?

c) Which target groups are more venerable?

d)When was the first case of Malaria recorded?

e) What countries are most affected by Malaria?

Chose a question!

What is Malaria? a) Malaria is a disease which is carried

by a female Mosquito. Malaria is a parasite which enters the human body and kills blood cells causing the body to react and sometimes ending in death. It can be prevented with some vaccines but millions of deaths have been recorded worldwide.

Who suffers from Malaria? b) Everyone can suffer from Malaria, but

it mainly kills young children below the age of 5, the elderly and pregnant women. This is because their immune system isn’t as good as someone the age of 25, and the parasite can spread a lot quicker throughout the body.

Which target groups are most venerable? c)People that are most vulnerable of

getting Malaria are children between 1 and 5, elderly men and women and pregnant women. They are an easy target for the Malaria parasite as it is able to bread and spread all through the body into the liver and blood cells.

When was the first case of Malaria recorded? d) The first case of Malaria recorded was

4,000 years ago in 2700 BC in China.

Which countries are mostly affected by Malaria? e) The country that is mostly affected by

Malaria is Africa! Kenya in Africa have witnessed 40,000 deaths in 2006 alone, this death rate has been continuous up until now. Angola and Nigeria have also had up to 10,000 deaths in 2009.

Why does Malaria affect some people in some places? 2) Malaria only affects some people in some areas

depending on where in the world you are and the certain climate that you’re in. This is because mosquitos breed and spread in warm weather were there is lots of water. Countries like Africa are most at risk because they are a tropical country with mostly warm weather and many breeding places for mosquitos. The Malaria parasite mainly effects children under 5 and pregnant women because their immune systems are not fully developed or as the pregnant women not working to its full capability because of the baby inside.

a) How does climate impact the spread of Malaria?b) What does a mosquito need to spread the disease? c) What has been done in countries to cure this disease?d) Why has Malaria become such a threat to people around the world?e) What vaccine have been made to cure Malaria patience?

Chose a question!

How does climate impact the spread of Malaria? a) Climate plays a very big part in the

spread of Malaria because for mosquitos to reproduce they need warm weather and wet pools or ponds for the young to grow in. Africa is the perfect home for mosquitos it has everything they need and that’s why so many people have died in Africa because Malaria is a growing disease.

What does a mosquito need to spread the disease? b) For the mosquito to survive, reproduce

and spread the disease it needs warm and damp places, they live in walls of homes and that’s how they attack the victim whilst they are sleeping. They also need pools/ponds to lay there egg lava so that it can grow into an adult mosquito. Mosquito population then grows and moves to other countries but they will only survive if they have all the needs.

What has been done in some countries to cure this disease? c)In country Africa they need as much

prevention as they can get because Malaria is very risky in these sorts of countries. Bed nets are given out to as many children as possible and certain chemical sprays are also on the market.

Why has Malaria become such a threat to people around the world? d)It has become such a threat because

it is so easily transmitted by the mosquito, and because if people aren’t careful enough they can be struck by an awful disease, which can keep you in isolation for many days and makes you very sick.

What vaccines have been made to help Malaria patience? e)The vaccine that has been used to help cure

Malaria is Quinine, and it has been used for the past 350 years, but Quinine the plant is becoming extinct because of how much it has been used over the years and now there isn’t enough left to keep creating the vaccine. They have come up with a new vaccine and that it Atomism it is being used to cure Malaria and so is RTSS. RTSS is anther vaccine in trial and is the closest one to being put on the market, but research shows it only covers 60%.

What will it take for Malaria to be eradicated in the future? 3) In the next two years it is expected that

there will be a vaccine made to kill the Malaria parasite once someone has received the illness. Currently there are only vaccines to prevent the parasite by making the immune system strong. The new vaccines directly attack the parasite were past vaccines that have been made have dealt with the bacteria side of it. This new vaccine is thought to wipe out the whole disease completely.

a)How does the Malaria vaccine prevent the parasite from occurring?

b)How are researchers trying to stop the parasite from spreading?

c)What progress has been made in creating a vaccine to cure Malaria?

d)If they find a permanent cure for Malaria, how do they know it will work for everyone?

Chose a question!

How does the Malaria vaccine prevent the parasite from occurring?

a) The vaccine for Malaria creates a strong immune system helping the body fight off the parasite. This vaccine is not proven to kill the Malaria parasites; it just prevents it from developing as the vaccine helps to develop a strong immune system. There has been a new vaccine for Malaria that has just been made and has been tested on people and is thought that it stops the Malaria Parasite from getting into the red blood cells and from multiplying.

How are researchers trying to stop the parasite from spreading? b)Researchers are trying to stop the

Malaria parasite by spreading as they have created vaccines which are to prevent the parasites from developing in the first place, Anti Malaria drugs which are given to patients that have already got Malaria, and Mosquito control, this is when people use bed nets when you’re sleeping and always to be wearing long pants and tops.

What progress has been made in creating a vaccine to cure the parasite?

c)There is currently no vaccines the kills the Malaria parasite; it just prevents the parasite from evolving. There are test currently going on to make a vaccine that actually kills the parasite. These tests are being done with children and adults in Africa that are more prone to the disease as there are much more Anopheles mosquitos in the area. These tests have shown that this particular vaccine helps the red bloods cells from absorbing the Malaria parasite.

How do they know the new vaccine will work for everyone? d)The world will be largely impacted when Malaria is

eradicated, as there will be more time for people to work, as they will not be at home trying to recover from the disease or taking care of sick member’s in the family. One of the main reasons that tropic countries are in poverty is because of Malaria. Malaria affects many families in those areas and cause people to be off work, which means that they do not receive the money that they need to buy their food and living fasilities. This means that there are poor living conditions and some may be living outside which will mean that they are more prone to be bitten by the mosquito and developed Malaria.

What impact does Malaria have on the victim?

4) Once the patient has the knowledge that they have received Malaria they are isolated in a hospital with many other patience. They will be feeling very sick and the first sign of Malaria is a fever. In Africa once people have realised they have a fever most of the time they will go straight to the hospital to be tested for Malaria. The Malaria parasite has a large impact on the victim and causes the victim to be off work for a very long time, which stop’s income for the family.

a) What are the symptoms of Malaria? b) How does Malaria enter the body?c)What does the parasite need to survive in the body?d) What is the life cycle of the parasite?e) How does a person know if they have Malaria?

Chose a question!

What are the symptoms of Malaria?

a)Symptoms -headaches -high fevers -chills -shivers -excessive sweating -pain in hands and feet

How does Malaria enter the body?

b)Malaria enters the body by being bitten by a mosquito that has Malaria in its gut. As the mosquito sucks the blood out of the human it injects a substances that stops the blood from clotting so the blood is easily transferred into the mosquito. As the mosquito injects this substance into the human it releases the Malaria parasite, which attaches itself to the red blood cells and then begins its journey around the body rapidly multiplying as it goes.

What does the parasite need to survive in the body?

c)For the Malaria parasite to survive in the body it needs warm temperatures to multiply and infect the body. This is why Malaria is very common in the tropical areas of the country. If someone is infected with Malaria in the middle of winter in Melbourne, the Malaria parasite is unable to grow and multiply inside the body there for the parasite becomes dormant.

What is the life cycle of the parasite? d) A female Anopheles mosquito that is carrying malaria

parasites that feeds on human blood injects the dieses into the blood stream through its salivary glands, when the saliva is stopping the blood from clotting. The parasite first travels to the liver and invades the liver cells.

Over a 5 to 15 day period the parasite grows and divides into tens of thousands of other parasites that are exactly the same inside the liver. Some Malaria parasite species remain dormant for extended amounts of time in the liver, causing a reaction to the parasite weeks or even months later.

The parasites exit the liver and re-enter the blood stream, beginning a cycle of invasion of the red blood cells. While the parasites are entering the red blood cells, the parasites young are born, realising thousands of infected cells into the blood stream, which leads to illness and complications of malaria that can last up to months if this serious disease is not treated.

Part 2 of the life cycle Some of these parasites leave the blood cells and instead

of replicating the parasite they develop into male and female, and then they continue their way around the blood stream.

When the mosquito bites an infected human, it ingests the blood cell that has the parasite in it, and the cell goes into its gut. The infected human blood cell burst releasing the parasite inside the mosquito’s gut. The parasites burrow into the mosquito’s mid gut wall and form cist.

The growth of each cist produces thousands of active organisms. After 8 to 15 days the cist burst, releasing the organisms into the body cavity of the mosquito, and then they travel to and invade the mosquito’s salivary glands. The cycle of human infection re-starts when the mosquito takes a blood meal, injecting the saliva from the salivary glands into the human blood stream, meaning that the human is then infected with the parasite, and the cycle repeats.

How does a person know if they have Malaria?

e)If someone discovers that they have a fever, this is the first realisation that you may have Malaria. Most people in Africa go to the doctors to be tested once they have a fever. After the fever has gone the next symptom is a head ache and pain in the feet and legs. If people have all these symptoms they know that they may have Malaria.

BIBLIOGRAPHY - BOOKS

Books Ramen , F. (2002). Epidemics-sleeping

sickness and other parasitic tropical diseases. new york: The Rosen Publishing Company.

Morgan, M. (2013). Fighting infections and diseases . Great British : Heinemann Library.

Knox, B. (2008). Biology-an Australian focus. (3rd ed.). Australia: McGraw Hill.

BIBLIOGRAPHY - VIDEOS NATIONAL , G. (Performer) (2011). Malaria cure breakthrough

[Web series episode]. National Geographic. Retrieved from 2.http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/ng-today/120811-malaria-cure-ngtoday/

National, G. (Performer) (2011). Health- malaria [Television series episode]. National Geographic. Retrieved from 3.http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/science/health-human-body-sci/health/malaria-sci/

national, G. (Performer) (n.d.).Malaria [Web series episode]. national geographic. Retrieved from 4.http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/07/malaria/malaria-video-interactive

you, T. (Performer) (2009). Malaria life cycle [Web series episode]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szlfndj0TFE

BIBLIOGRAPHY - WEBSITES How malaria has affected the human Geome and

what human genetics can teach us about malaria. (2010, national center of biology information). Retrieved from 1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/

http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/history/

timing of anti-malarious affects resistance. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/02/19/3692807.htm

BIBLIOGRAPHY - MAGAZINES

New , S. (2010, 11 6). Did silica coffins trap martian life. 7

New , S. (2011, 8 27). Parasites. 37.

Thank you Thank you to the academics that helped

us get the information about Malaria (Chris Adda and Robyn Anders). Also thank you to La Trobe University for having us for the past two weeks.

By Sophie Cuthbert and Maddi Barnewall, Ivanhoe Grammar School.