Hello,

Malaria is a well understood disease. We know that it is spread by mosquitos.
Mosquitos are well understood insects. We know they spread by breeding in stagnant pools of water.
So, why do so many people keep falling victim to it every year?

- We don't often clear the puddles in our compounds.
- We don't always use insecticides to clear our rooms of mosquitos.
- We don't use mosquito nets and insect repellants as diligently as we should.
- Some people don't believe in taking drugs until the fever is fully blown.

Let's just be more vigilant and malaria will be under control!

Seun

That's very well said and will definitely reduce the risk of malaria but if you do all of that to your compound and within your immediate environment, how about the next compound? How about the million and one places we always have the need to visit?

There'll always be one stagnant water somewhere unattended by anyone and mosquitoes will continue to breed there. We have to face it really, we're in Africa and a long way away from a malaria free environment, crave it as we may.

Ra: That is an insightful reply, but bear it in mind that:
[list]
[li]Mosquitos cannot transmit the malaria parasite until they are infected by someone suffering from malaria. If more people start treating malaria quickly and decisively (before the full fever breaks out) the chance of a random mosquito bite resulting in malaria will be much lower.[/li]
[li]Mosquitos are usually inactive during the day. They come out during the evening, when most people are in their own houses. If your immediate environment is mosquito-free, you are much less likely to get bitten by mosquitos. So if you regularly spray each room in your house with an insecticide, use mosquito nets on all windows, and clear all water puddles in your compound, it will make a lot of difference![/li]
[li]Nobody will challenge you if you decide to go one step further and clear stagnant pools of water on public property outside your compound (for example, roadside gutters close to your house). There are cheap chemicals you can pour into puddles to make it difficult for mosquito larvae to survive in them.[/li]
[/list]

You'll be surprised how easily well-understood diseases (like malaria) can be reduced to insignificance when people take collective action against them!

people will continue to suffer from malaria if our environment is kept dirty and un healthy
for human living.

when there are stangnant water all around us, no proper arrangment for sanitory officers to check our surroundings as it use to be in time past,

sanitation is not been observered, people don't go for check up until alam blows up. There should be a public talk on how best to keep our surrounding free from dirts and jams.

I have this application on my smartphone that repels mosquitos, it's called mosquitonet.
This app really works, all you have to do is install the .sis file on your phone and launch it, your phone emits an inaudible high frequency sound that scares off those suckers.....

Mamba, I can see from your diagram that a 20Hz tone scare away dragonflies and a 50-90KHz sound scares away bats. What frequency range scares away mosquitos?

I find this idea very interesting. Does it mean that if I play the same frequency on my PC speaker my computer room will be mosquito-free? Wow!

Very funny mamba How on earth can that repel mosquitoes? In some environments, your battery will run out before daybreak! The poverty level makes that an almost impossible option because most people don't have mobile phones and some of those who do can't afford that hi-tech phone of yours.

The point is clean environment. We can't eradicate mosquitoes paticularly in tropical region like ours but clean environment could breed new form of mosquitoes less dangerous to health.

Mosquitoes are pests and will always spread malaria. That is their mission on earth.

demmy: clean environment could breed new form of mosquitoes less dangerous to health.

Seriously?

Or it is just a joke?

I think we suffer from malaria because we have refused to take precautions! Maintain a clean environment. Use insecticides to protect against the mosquitoes that can come from neighbours and once the symptom of malaria is noticed, take any anti-malarial drug. Prevention is better than cure you know!

The assumption is that when people have fever they have malaria, right? Many ended being treated for malaria, when in actual sense it was something else. Do not get me wrong, malaria is endemic in Nigeria, and preventive steps should be taken to CONTROL it. People will always suffer from the illness.

I just wish we had as many hospital as churches, or as many school as churches. Then most of these problems like malaria would be solved

WOW mamba you must be R.I.C.H

naa, not really.

That phone is a Sonyericsson P910i, probably the best pda phone in the market for now.

I used the app when I was in Akure doing some repair job in our factory @ night.
That place was filled with mosquitos and the app actually worked & doesn't drain the battery.....

Still on the issue of malaria but marrying it to the disheartening issue of fake drugs in Nigeria, did you know that some people who travel back home to Nigeria are plagued by malaria? This in itself is not unusual, the immune system shuts down over the years and such people are more susceptible to the malaria parasite.

What I find terribly sad however, is the fact that some of these people go to the pharmacists and procure anti-malaria drugs with their own money only to find out when it's far too late that such drugs were fake. I know of at least 3 unfortunate people who died last year as a result of that. Malaria patients are quarantined here, as I imagine in most other western countries and we were not allowed to even visit this poor girl. She died a month later and was discovered at her inquest that she must have taken a heavy dose of fake drugs.

May God help us in this our Nigeria, may God help us all.

Malaria is a disease of the tropics.
It is good though to take these precausions you highlighted above.
but you people left two things untouched these are ignorance (illiteracy) and poverty.
It might surprise you to mention these two things and wonder how?

Some people are not enlightened and I think public awareness is essential.
Awareness about the causes, consequences, prevention and treatment of Malaria is a neccessity.
Our government can not do it alone, Health organisations, NGOs, Corporate organisations and individuals should be involved.

Our government tried about in the past by the programe called "Roll back malaria" The jingle was all over.
But not enough.

Poverty, our government is not doing much about this.

Well, when i tell my friend here that i had malaria, all they say is i almost died right? They don't get it that they can just use antibiotics and be cured. they think malaria is one big thing. I got malaria in NIgeria, I used antibiotics and i was okay.

Malaria can be stopped, if people start cleaning their enviroment and all "pure waters", should be really pure

I do agree with Hot Angel.Malaria is caused by mosquitoes and mosquitoes develop as a result of dirt.
so pls clean up your gutters and may be boil water before drinking or get a dispenser just be clean and keep the environment clean.
Getting malaria here is a big diseases but in Nigeria is a common thing,people die from it all the time ,lets all come together and keep Nigeria clean so we can fight malaria.

From:
Latoya: "...and may be boil water before drinking or get a dispenser just be clean " and
Hot-angel:"..and all "pure waters", should be really pure"

Fine, good to have clean and safe water, but what has that got to do with malaria?

Clean water, won't bring mosquitoes. No mosquitoes, no malaria. Duhhh

Malaria is basically caused by a bacteria carried by mosquitoes.Mosquitoes arrive as a result of dirt and unclean enviroments and things we eat and drink especially water,because we r meant to drink around 8-10 glasses a day can be infected.
Cant you see the link Imnakoya

Latoya,[b] we [/b]don't drink 8-10 glasses a day. We are meant to do that, but majoritity don't.

Majorities don't.
but all the same water is the fastest link to get malaria believe it or not

Latoya! You can not get malaria from drinking water; you get it when an infected mosquito bites you.

Where did you get such an idea?

Hey seun,
i think you shuld read from the start before you try conclude..
malaria is caused by mosquitoes agreed... how do you get mosquitoes
From stagnant water,wet places and all that.
please go back and read again

"Malaria is basically caused by a bacteria carried by mosquitoes.Mosquitoes arrive as a result of dirt and unclean enviroments and things we eat and drink especially water,because we r meant to  drink around 8-10 glasses a day can be infected"

Layota et all, can you do some research into this topic please? I think every Nigerian should know the basic things about Malaria. The only relevance of water to Malaria is that, like you said, bredding of mosquito. That's all; drinking "dirty water" does not lead to Malaria. So Seun is right.

Secondly the organisms that cause Malaria is not bacteria, ....find out.

Oh well i still stand on my points until i do some reasearch

because of mosquito bites

A new fungus has been discovered which can infect mosquitoes and prevent them from lusting after human blood. As you all know only female mosquitoes suck blood because they need it for their eggs. There is respite in the near future though the fungus still has to undergo several research and approvals by the international community before it can be used.

Yah malaria is such a treatable disease
It is sad that so many people die of a treetable disease.

When las i came to naija i did not take the anti-viral drug and i got really sick
i had to be injected several times with chlorclean...and you know where they inject the needle

Their is a Chinese herb that can easily treat this disease
http://www.mirabilis.ca/archives/001027.html
And malaria is not just an african disease. Remember that it is one of the oldest viruses...
It has been around before man even roamed this great

What Africa is not the only place on the earth with stagnate water...did you know that in parts of china it is unsafe to drink well water...see it is the awareness that is the problem...
Make Naija by dis drug/herb oh, God knows the future generations that have been destroyed because of simple malaria...

I thought that the melanin in our skin is supposed to protect us from Malaria?
The browner you are the more you are protected. I guess this is wrong.