270

■Bio-mathematics, Statistics and Nano-Technologies: Mosquito Control Strategies

CONTENTS

17.1

Introduction ...............................................................

270

17.2

Mosquito transmitted malaria in Malawi ...................................

272

17.3

Geographical structure and demography of the country .....................

272

17.4

WHO operation and mosquito control in Malawi ...........................

275

17.5

Successes and failures in mosquito control in

Malawi ..........

276

17.5.1 Successes .........................................................

276

17.5.2 Failures ...........................................................

277

17.6

Consequences of cerebral malaria in young children ........................

277

17.7

Supporting the project .....................................................

278

17.8

Conclusion ................................................................

279

17.1

INTRODUCTION

Malaria is responsible for a significant number of infections and deaths. According

to the World Health Organization (WHO) [1], there were estimated 228 million cases of

malaria in 2018, where 93% of them occurred in Africa. The incidence rate is about 229

cases per 1000 population, so the disease is still endemic in that part of the world. In the

African region, the parasite Plasmodium falciparum is the most prevalent, accounting for

99.7% of estimated malaria cases, whereas P. vivax is accounting for 47% of the malaria

cases in India [1]. These parasites are transmitted by mosquitos. If not treated, malaria can

quickly become life-threatening, affecting children under the age of five very hard with

severe or even cerebral malaria. In 2018 it is estimated that 405,000 deaths occurred glob-

ally, due to malaria, of which 272,000 (67%) were children under the age of 5 years [1].

According to WHO, 94% of these deaths happened in Africa. That is about 750 deaths

every day, or one child every two minutes in Africa alone.

It is important to keep in mind United Nations’ (UN) central transformative promise

of the 2030 Agenda for the UN Sustainability Development Goals (UN SDGs), which is

summed up in one simple statement: “leave no one behind”. It is our responsibility, as cit-

izens of the world, to take part in prioritizing different fast-tracking actions for the poorest

and the most vulnerable and marginalized people. This includes seeing to their wellbeing

and health (UN SDGs # 3).

If we take a closer look at the access to appropriate drugs to treat children with malaria,

there is a lack of infant formulations and dosage forms for children. The drugs available

are adult tablets that need to be divided, when dosing children, which can easily lead to

inaccurate dosing [2]. Many families living in small villages, do not have access to hos-

pitals, where they can bring their child if it has life-threatening severe malaria or cerebral

malaria. The child may have emesis, poor consciousness, seizures or even be in a coma.

Oral medication or a fraction of a tablet is, therefore, not an acceptable form of treatment

in these conditions. If the parents live close to a hospital their child may be treated with