[...]... DDT It is just one of the many battlegrounds in humanity’s long fight against malaria 14 PERSPECTIVES ON DISEASES AND DISORDERS CHAPTER 1 Understanding Malaria VIEWPOINT 1 An Overview of Malaria Carol A Turkington and Rebecca J Frey Photo on previous page The female Anopheles gambiae feeds on human blood Mosquitoes use the blood for egg production, but it may also carry the malaria infection.  (Sinclair... fected person and then passes the infection on to the next human it bites It is also possible to spread malaria via contaminated needles or in blood transfusions This is why all blood donors are carefully screened with questionnaires for possible exposure to malaria Complementary Roles Played by Humans and Mosquitoes in the Malaria Infection Cycle Malaria It is possible to contract malaria in non-endemic... analysis PERSPECTIVES ON DISEASES AND DISORDERS 21 Malaria Anyone who becomes ill with chills and fever after being in an area where malaria exists must see a doctor and mention their recent travel to endemic areas A person with the above symptoms who has been in a high-risk area should insist on a blood test for malaria The doctor may believe the symptoms are just the common flu virus Malaria is often... falciparum malaria in Africa, South Africa, India, and southeast Asia are now resistant to chloroquine In Thailand and Cambodia, there are strains of falciparum malaria that have some resistance to almost all known drugs A patient with falciparum malaria needs to be hospitalized and given antimalarial drugs in different com22 PERSPECTIVES ON DISEASES AND DISORDERS Understanding Malaria binations and doses... air conditioned hotels on tourist itineraries in urban or resort areas are at lower risk than backpackers, missionaries, and Peace Corps volunteers Some people in western cities where malaria does not usually exist may acquire the infection from a mosquito carried onto a jet This is called airport or runway malaria PERSPECTIVES ON DISEASES AND DISORDERS 25 VIEWPOINT 2 Malaria Is One of the Oldest and. .. means of controlling malaria Travelers to high-risk areas should use insect repellant containing DEET for exposed skin Because DEET is toxic in large amounts, children should not use a concen24 PERSPECTIVES ON DISEASES AND DISORDERS Understanding Malaria tration higher than 35% DEET should not be inhaled It should not be rubbed onto the eye area, on any broken or irritated skin, or on children’s hands It... eludes researchers For National Geographic reporter Finkel, writing about malaria had a personal dimension: Finkel himself contracted the illness while traveling in northern Thailand in 2002 SOURCE:  Michael Finkel, “Stopping a Global Killer,” National Geographic, July 2007 Reproduced by permission 26 PERSPECTIVES ON DISEASES AND DISORDERS Understanding Malaria W e live on a malarious planet It may... thousands of Allied forces contracted malaria in the South Pacific and the Allies responded by spraying the region with DDT to combat the high rates of infection among the troops So it was with these successes in mind that WHO began its seemingly monumental task of coordinating a global malaria campaign One of the early target countries was the island nation of Borneo in Indonesia, which had 10 PERSPECTIVES. .. insecticide-treated bed net remains one of the most effective preventive measures against the disease Turkington and Frey are health and medical writers SOURCE:  Carol A Turkington and Rebecca J Frey, Malaria, ” Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, January 1, 2006 Reproduced by permission of Gale, a part of Cengage Learning PERSPECTIVES ON DISEASES AND DISORDERS Understanding Malaria M alaria is a growing problem... crops and threaten- PERSPECTIVES ON DISEASES AND DISORDERS In America DDT spraying to combat malaria began in the 1940s, and malaria was eliminated in the United States by 1951 (Loomis Dean/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images) 11 Malaria ing residents with outbreaks of typhus WHO responded by enlisting the Singapore Royal Air Force to parachute containers of cats rounded up from elsewhere on the island into . was the island nation of Borneo in Indonesia, which had 10 PERSPECTIVES ON DISEASES AND DISORDERS INTRODUCTION PERSPECTIVES ON DISEASES AND DISORDERS. malaria. CHAPTER 1 Understanding Malaria 16 PERSPECTIVES ON DISEASES AND DISORDERS SOURCE: Carol A. Turkington and Rebecca J. Frey, Malaria, ” Gale Encyclopedia