TAWARAN ISMEWA UNTUK PENGUNJUNG

Wednesday 7 May 2014

What Is Malaria?

Malaria is a major public health problem, causing 250 million cases of fever and approximately one million deaths annually. Therefore, understanding its history is very important.

About 10,000 years ago Malaria started having a major impact on human survival which coincide with the start of agriculture. The symptoms of malaria fever were described and attributed to the bites of certain insects.

The first evidence of malaria parasites had been found in mosquitoes preserved in amber from the Paleogene period that are approximately 30 million years old. Malaria may have been a human pathogen for the entire history of the species. The name malaria, derived from 'mal' 'aria' which means bad air in Medieval Italian. The name was given to the illness because it was once common in most of Europe and North America.

Europeans and their West African slaves brought malaria to Americans during the 16th Century. Spanish missionaries found that the fever was treated by Amerindians with powder from Peruvian Bark.

During the 19th century, malaria was treated with Quinine, Warburg's tincture, synthetic drugs. In the 20th century, efforts to control the spread of malaria suffered a major set back. In 1938, the introduction of a new mosquito vector caused the greatest epidemic of malaria ever seen in the world.
Othmar Zeider is credited for discovering the first synthesis of DDT (DichloroDiphnyTrichloroethane) in 1874. He was awarded the Nobel prize for having discovered the medicine which remains highly effective against malaria.

Since Malaria is a serious health issue, be sure to protect yourself against that it when traveling overseas by obtaining information about the preventions.

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