Although it does not occur in France, malaria (or malaria) is the most common parasitic infection in the world and hundreds of thousands of people die each year, the vast majority of which are children under the age of 5.
Caused by parasites transmitted during the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito, malaria is characterized by high fever, chills, muscle and joint pain, headache, diarrhea and nausea. The incubation period is on average 7 days. In the absence of treatment, serious complications can arise: iit is primarily a brain disorder (“malaria”) that occurs when blood cells infected with the parasite reach the brain, causing delirium, loss of consciousness, coma or death.
Death may also be linked to pulmonary edema (a build-up of fluid in the lungs that can cause serious breathing problems), failure of certain organs such as the kidneys or liver, or rupture of the spleen, which can all cause death.
Malaria occurs in 89 countries around the world
In 2018, 228 million cases and 405,000 deaths were recorded worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “Children under the age of five are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria; in 2018, they represented 67% of deaths attributable to malaria worldwide (i.e. 272,000). ”
The share of the global burden of disease is higher in the African region since “93% of malaria cases and 94% of deaths attributable to this disease have occurred in this region ”, but South America (Brazil, Bolivia, Panama, Peru, Guatemala, etc.) and Asia also harbor an increased risk of malaria. “International travelers may be at risk of malaria infection in 89 countries around the world ”, specifies the WHO.
How to protect yourself from malaria?
How to protect yourself when traveling? “Different anti-malaria molecules can be used for prevention during a trip to an endemic area or for treatment, says the government. Preventive treatment, always on medical prescription, is adapted to the areas visited (risk, existence or not of resistance), the duration of the trip and of course the person traveling (age, medical history, intolerance to antimalarials, possible drug interaction , pregnancy…). ”
Very important: the occurrence of malaria under drug prophylaxis is a possibility. It can be the consequence of chemoprophylaxis unsuitable for the geographical area (high resistance level) or, more often still, of poorly followed chemoprophylaxis (taken irregularly or stopped too soon after the return). Among the antimalarial treatments, there is the famous chloroquine, whose professor Didier Raoult sells the virtues in the fight against Covid-19.
It is also advisable to protect yourself from possible mosquito bites by wearing long clothes, impregnated with insecticide, to apply a repellent or even to sleep with a mosquito net.
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