Question

Write 1 - 3 pages paper about malaria disease in the United States. Include the following:

1. Explains why malaria disease is a public health issue and why it should be important to public health professionals.

2. Include the incidence and/or prevalence of malaria disease.

3. Explains the impacts of malaria disease on the community and identifies certain groups that are disproportionately affected.

4. Includes at least 2 peer reviewed journal articles, one of these must be from the Morbidity Mortality Weekly Report. Include your sources.

Answer 1

1). Malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) needs two hosts for its growth (mosquito and growth). Within the mosquito, it is present in sporozoite phase. When a mosquito bites human, it releases the sporozoites into the circulation that infects liver cells. These sporozoites develop multiply into haploid merozoites within the liver and enter into the systemic circulation. Merozoites undergo asexual replication in the red blood cells and produce the number of infected cells, which is responsible for the illness. Some of the merozoites stop asexual multiplication and develop into sexual forms, means male and female gametes. These gametes again enter into a mosquito, if it bites an infected person. Within the midgut wall of mosquito, gametes fuse to form an oocyte, which matures and release haploid sporozoites, the mosquito is now ready to infect again.

Thus, based on the life cycle of malaria, it is clear that it is a communicable disease (public health issue) require prevention. Public health professionals concern about malaria transmission because untreated malaria can lead to cerebral malaria. Pulmonary edema, kidney failure, seizures, convulsion, and coma are the serious consequences of untreated malaria.