Malaria

- how little buggers spread a deadly disease

Probably no other insect has killed more people than the mosquito. As a malaria vector it annoys people around the world, not only with its bites, but also because it causes more than 700,000 deaths per year. The vast majority occur in Africa, south of the Sahara, where poverty and hopelessness are most at home. Fever, headaches and body aches are often the first clues of the fatal disease. Often vomiting, shortness of breath and diarrhea also occur.

Background

Malaria is transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. They breed in water holes and puddles. At dusk they fan out to find food. A vaccine against malaria is currently not available. But unlike diseases such as AIDS or tuberculosis, malaria can be treated with simple means. In Burkina Faso, one in five children dies before their fifth birthday. A major reason for the high death rates in children is the high poverty in Burkina, because many families can not easily afford a doctor’s visit and medication.

The good deed

Children and mothers stay or become healthy. The impact of the project has been demonstrated through studies at the University of Montreal.

Challenge

A key challenge is to win the trust of the population, so that health centers are visited and births, e.g., are supervised. There are still major reservations about Western medicine in Burkina Faso.