Symptoms
for the two mosquitoes borne diseases:
Malaria Dengue
Chills
and shivering Muscular
weakness
Vomiting Body
rash or itching
Fever
with flu like symptoms Pain
around & behind eyes
Blood
test & drugs Fever
& acute body ache
Blood test to monitor platelet count, no lesser than 20,000
Every time, the incidences of Dengue and Malaria
in the country corroborate its resurgence in a virulent form and poses a
formidable challenge to public health administration, medical researchers and
leads WHO to reshape its strategy.
Unfortunately, today the combat seems too far away since the world’s
promising and the most advanced potential malaria vaccine RTS,S has failed to
live up to the promise as the scientists from Oxford University recently
doubted the final leg tests since the effectiveness wanes over the time.
Earlier, it was claimed that the vaccine could be a reality and expected to hit
the markets by 2015. There were expectations that the vaccine (RTS,S/AS01E) by
attacking the malaria parasite in the
very early stages while entering the bloodstream or liver cells would
prevent and abate infection of red blood
cells and the development of serious symptoms.
Breakthrough
at Home
The Bengal Engineering and Science
University (BESU) scientists have found an easy and economical method to
control the menace of mosquitoes with carbon nano-particles by adding around 3
milligrams of water soluble carbon nano-particles with a litre which does wonders
by killing the mosquitoes and larvae according to the researchers studies published
in the UK Journal Riyal Society of Chemistry, recently. The scientists claim
that the method is a cheaper one and safe enough in contrast to the hazardous
chemical sprays.
Earlier, the scientists at International
Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi discovered
key antigens and claimed that the discovery would lead the way for the
development of a novel malaria vaccine chiefly against Plasmodium falciparum,
one of the species of the malaria parasite causing disease among humans. Also, CSIR
has initiated crowdsourcing drugs for malaria and TB through a venture for
building a chemical library with diverse compounds on country level basis that
will drive drug discovery programmes especially for neglected diseases like
malaria and TB. In 2008, CSIR launched
Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) project with the objective of discovering the
drugs for Malaria and TB and other diseases through open innovation and sharing
of researches which brought about 34 institutions including a few IIT’s besides
other organization on the prestigious OSDD project.
In the beginning of
the year, the researchers successfully launched a gene disruption technique to change the colour of mosquito
a very critical step towards the genetic strategies aimed at disrupting the
transmission of diseases like dengue etc. Scientists from Virginia Polytechnic
and State University used a pair of engineered proteins to cut DNA in a site-specific
manner to disrupt a targeted gene into mosquito genome. The
Malaysian researchers, in early 2011 released about 6000 genetically modified
mosquitoes into a forest in the first of its kind experiment in Asia aimed to
curb the dengue fever. The test was meant to pave the way for the use of
genetically engineered Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes to mate with females and
produce no offspring or ones with shorter lives, thus curtailing the mosquito
population.
The dengue and malaria cases reported to
the WHO have doubled multifold in recent years which could be too high with the
unreported cases across the countries. Around three decades back, the
resistance to conventional insecticides was recorded in 62 countries out of 107
exposed to malaria and resistant strains of the malarial parasite to the
chloroquine treatment reported from around 20 countries. Once, the then WHO
Director General, Mr. Halfdan Muhler said that the anti-malaria programme in
India has received a great setback during the last five years because of
parasite resistance to the anti-malarial medicines which resulted in an
increase upto 30 to 40 times.
Background
The book, ”Man’s Mastery of Malaria”
describes Hippocrates as the first malariologist who correctly identified the
relationship of the ecological conditions with the disease. After Lerven, the
French Army Surgeon who discovered plasmodium in 1880 Sir Ronald Ross in 1898
showed the cycle of the parasite and the female anopheles mosquito involved in
the transmission of the disease. Manson confirmed it in 1900.
The WHO in 1935 had indicated the number of
positive cases of malaria over 100 million whereas the League of Nations (1930)
and Fletcher (1932) indicated that the disease affected one third of the human
population in Central America, Asia and Africa – more than 300 million people
all over the world in 1940.Earlier, pyrethrum and kerosene sprays were used to
kill mosquitoes. The advent of DDT, a long acting insecticide without toxic
effect on mammals brought new hopes for malaria control. But its widespread use
during World War II to protect troops against lice and parasites suppressed its
effectiveness against mosquitoes.
Time and again, the dengue outbreak is
there with about 1300 cases reported in the capital till recently. Malaria
cases all over have gone up many fold with most of the cases unreported which
demands that the disease needs a radical treatment to the patients, otherwise,
one unattended positive case of Malaria has the potency to communicate the
disease to 1200 persons during its peak season. But still the control of
malaria transmission, which today is termed as the programme of eradication, has
almost rid the world of this calamity. The Dengue cases similarly always keeps
on increasing with taking the death toll every year. By 1968, this programme
covered a population of about 715 million with another 70 million people in
different countries. There were aggressive programmes with various launches and
further campaigns.
It was estimated at
the close of 1952-53 that about 75 million people suffered from Malaria every
in every year in India. Since the country’s population was approaching 361
million in (1952-53), roughly one out of every five persons was likely to
suffer from the disease every year. The total annual number of reported cases
was somewhat between 0.8 million and one
million against the total mortality rate of 5.5 million. Apart from direct
mortality, the disease was indirectly responsible for the victimization of
another 8 to 10 million individuals every year. The post-independence period
showed some improvement owing to successful use of the insecticide on a very
limited scale and by 1965 the disease had been virtually eradicated. The total
number of positive cases all over the country touched the all time low of
40,000 in 1966. Unfortunately, it did not last long and this improvement led to
the discontinuance of the National Eradication Programme.
The position to worsen, resulting in a
gradual increase till the number of malaria cases reached about 1.5 million in
1972. After a decade of nil mortality (since 1966) about 100 persons died of
malaria in 1975 and 1976. Simultaneously, the number of cases, around the
world, touched 120 million in 1976 and the problem assumed World-wide
significance once again.
Previously, about 12,00 million tablets
were procured, 100 million from the country and the rest from abroad. The
Central Government doubled the allocation of malaria-control representing 75
per cent of the total health budget. This year, about 16,000 tonnes of DDT have
been allocated for the national Malaria Eradication Programme. Nearly 35,000
tonnes of more powerful BHC insecticide have also been allocated. Officials
state that about 500 million chloroquine tablets have been released in the
market.
Money
for the fight
The World Health Organisation in 1959 allocated
about 1,691 million dollars for malaria eradication all over the world. The WHO
alone contributed 83 million dollars and the UNICEF and the US Agency for
International Development gave 246 million dollars but estimated figures fell a
little short of the real figures. The WHO spent more than 95 million dollars
over 1956-72, the Pan America Sanitary Bureau spent $33.5 million
dollars, the
UNICEF $95 million and the UN Development Programme $10 million to eradicate
malaria from all regions of the world. This year, the WHO has a target of $20
million dollars for the proposal etc.
The mosquito has once again become a
powerful enemy to the man. The research in malaria and dengue has, therefore,
assumed a degree of urgency. Dengue –transmitting mosquitoes have become immune
to many popular and commonly used repellents across the world and it has been
found that the mosquitoes are able to ignore the smell of the insect repellent
for upto three hours after being exposed to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment