April 25 is also known as World Malaria Day – an important calendar event which aims to raise awareness of the importance of the fight against Malaria.
It’s a common cause for fundraising, and you may have done your bit towards helping countries where Malaria is rife, as Red Nose Day and other big events put donations towards medical help and preventative measures against Malaria.
What Is Malaria?
According to the NHS, Malaria is defined as:
“ A serious tropical disease spread by mosquitoes” If the disease, which can be caught through a single mosquito bite, isn’t correctly diagnosed or treated then it can be fatal.”
There are particular countries around the world where there is a high risk of the disease and becoming infected, these include:
- Large areas of Africa and Asia
- Central and South America
- Haiti and the Dominican Republic
- Parts of the Middle East
- Some Pacific islands
If a person is infected with Malaria through a bite from a Mosquito, which carries the parasite known as Plasmodium that causes the disease, then the usual symptoms are often a high temperature (fever), sweats and chills, headaches vomiting, muscle pains and diarrhoea.
These usually occur 7-8 days after being infected, however sometimes the symptoms can lie dormant and can appear up to a year later.
Prevention?
When travelling abroad to such high risk countries, as the ones listed above, it’s important to seek medical advice and obtain Malaria prevention tablets before heading out.
The NHS website states that
“Many cases of malaria can be avoided. An easy way to remember is the ABCD approach to prevention:
- Awareness of risk – Find out whether you’re at risk of getting Malaria before travelling.
- Bite prevention – Avoid mosquito bites by using insect repellent, covering your arms and legs, and using an insecticide-treated mosquito net.
- Check whether you need to take Malaria prevention tablets – If you do, make sure you take the right anti-malaria tablets at the right dose, and finish the course.
- Diagnosis – Seek immediate medical advice if you develop malaria symptoms, as long as up to a year after you return from travelling”
World Malaria Day – How To Help
As you might already be aware, in many of the countries where Malaria is abundant there’s often no means of prevention available to the people who live there. This is why in the UK and across the Globe there’s multiple fundraising events throughout the year to help raise money for simple things such as Mosquito nets and medical care for those affected.
World Malaria Day is a great way for spreading the importance of fighting Malaria and getting people to be more aware and also give money if they can. The official event tagline is a “push for prevention” and hopefully the discussion helps towards this.
To show your support for this awareness day use the hashtag #WorldMalariaDay and spread the word!
If you’re concerned or need more information on Malaria or any other disease then check the NHS Choices website or speak to your local GP.
