Nico Nissink

Malaria

Malaria is a serious disease usually caused by protozoan parasites and is found within

insects, mostly mosquitos. This disease is a problem in places like Africa and South Asia.

However, there are approxamitely 1,300 cases of Malaria each year in the United States. The

four types of bacteria that can give you malaria are Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale,

and P. malariae. Infection with P. falciparum. This disease is easily preventable, but if it is not

treated it may lead to death or serious illness.

According to the World Health Organization there are around 300 million to 500 million

malaria cases yearly and close to a million people die each year from it. In poorer countries like

Africa the disease is most prevalent and because they cannot find a way to stop it, it has a yearly

cycle. The transmission of this disease is quick, but can be stopped with things such as mosquito

nets. The disease is transferred by infected Anopheles female mosquitoes usually. These are the

only mosquitoes that can transfer the disease, and they receive it by taking it from a previously

infected person. When they take the blood of the previously infected person, small malaria

parasites join with the mosquitoes’ saliva and are injected into the person being bitten by the

mosquito. It is also possible to get this by blood transfusion, transplants of organs, and shared

syringes or needles.

Malaria however cannot be spread from person to person like a flu or a cold, or through sexual

contact. The disease is said to have been around for thousands of thousands of years and the
direct origin cannot be traced. Anybody anywhere can get malaria, sometimes an infected mother

may pass it on to her child. People in the Southern regions and countries of Africa are most likely

to get this, and more likely to die from it to, due to poverty, bad health care, and bad sanitation.

The causes are known though and many organizations are trying to combat the disease affecting

those areas. Some of the symptoms include shaking chills, flu-like illness, fever, head and

muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and may even cause jaundice and amnesia due to the

loss of red blood cells. Plasmodium falciparum can be very serious and can cause kidney failure,

seizures, and death if not treated immediately. One problem is that malaria can take anywhere

from seven days to four weeks for the symptoms to set in to your body and effect you.

There is not a malaria vaccine at the moment. However it is curable by taking anti-

malarial drugs. A cure called SN 13,276 was thought to be one of the most effective, if not a

permanent cure, but we are unsure if this can become a permanent cure for this protozoan

infection. Some things to prevent malaria include spraying insecticide around the home, using

insect repellent and sleeping under a bed net or a mosquito net. All of these precautions could

save a life or prevent serious illness. People are usually required to take ant malarial drugs when

visiting countries where the disease is often found.

 Nico Nissink

WANTED!!!

Requirements: Train for the job in the Armed Services or a Bachelor’s Degree. If your

college offers a Meteorology degree program, that would be recommended.

Salary: Salary starting at $50,000 per year.

Job Description: Meteorologists study the earth’s atmosphere, movements and

characteristics of the atmosphere and earth. They also study Atmospheric patterns and how they

could affect the Earth. Analysis of weather, air pollution, and being able to make forecasts is an

important part of this job. Another important thing is to be able to measure other atmospheric

things like temperature, humidity, rain fall, wind speed, and air quality in order to predict the

weather for later times, and recognize patterns. You must also learn these things so that you can

predict the future weather and long term changes in climate, and things that could affect water

levels, such as global warming or a change in food levels. You may be forced to work alone, or

in places across the world.

 Nico Nissink

Malaria in World War II

During World War II, malaria was prominent. Millions of soldiers were affected. Troops

marching across Africa had no protection or immunity to this disease. Malaria was a huge factor

in this world, because if it were not defeated the United States could not win the war. Around

60,000 troops were killed marching across Africa and the South Pacific. The men were more

worried about the mosquitoes than actually fighting Japanese soldiers.

Malaria was fought with repellent to keep mosquitoes off of the body and kill them.

Mosquito nets were used to catch the bugs and keep them from biting you while sleeping, and

injecting you with the serious disease. Atabrine was an anti-malarial medication that was taken

by soldiers so that they could remain strong and fight. DDT a common pesticide was also used at

the bases and camps to keep the grounds free of any pest. If malaria was contagious, this war

might not have ended in our favor.

Malaria is one of the diseases that can easily catch you by surprise and the symptoms

could take awhile to set in. This disease also had a key role in World War I, the Vietnam War, the

Korean War, and was even said to slay Alexander the Great, a mighty warrior of Greece. There is

no doubt that this disease that has been around for thousand of years has a huge effect on the

world, and could easily have determined the endings of any war. The precautions taken by the
soldiers in World War II have carried over to today and have helped combat the disease and limit

the amount of cases in the United States.

Coca Cola
Located in Mendham New
Jersey