Despite the hoopla and buzz as well as the burden of the coronavirus pandemic in Africa, malaria is still killing hundreds of thousands of people yearly in the continent, especially in subSaharan Africa. During the pandemic, public health experts instituted measures to curb transmission of the virus, including social distancing, hand washing, use of face coverings, and in extreme cases, lockdowns. But prevention of malaria requires much simpler and oft neglected approaches.
But first, why is malaria endemic in Nigeria and other tropical countries? Note that the word is endemic and not pandemic - they mean different things. While a pandemic is an astronomical form of an epidemic or widespread disease, an endemic disease refers to one that is widespread within a restricted region, in this instance the tropics. The reason is simple, mosquitoes survive in the tropical forest, and temperate climates do not support the growth and reproduction of mosquitoes, which carry the malaria parasite. The malaria parasite is then transmitted to humans during a blood feed by the mosquitoes when they bite humans.
Given this context, how do we prevent malaria?
The old and simple method of keeping your environment clean is still as effective as it was when you first heard it. Keep your environment clean by eliminating mosquito hideouts and breeding areas around you. You probably know already that remnants of rainwater or other sources of water in containers left unattended to serve as breeding ground for mosquitoes.
As one of the simple measures to prevent malaria, it is advisable to look out for such rubbish around the house, empty their water content and trash the containers. This drastically reduces mosquito breeding grounds and curtails the spread of malaria.
Keeping the environment free of bushes and pools of stagnant water is of particular importance during this period of the wet or rainy season. The rainy season favors the breeding of mosquitoes, thus explaining the greater prevalence of malaria during this period.
In fact, going the extra mile of ensuring you sleep under an insecticide-treated net further reduces your need for sprayed insecticides. And, did you know that we now have a malaria vaccine? Watch this space!
Take-home message: malaria is endemic in the tropics and kills hundreds of thousands of people in the region every year. Yet, simple measures such as noted here can help prevent malaria. Do the right things today; take simple steps to beat malaria today!
