Some of the ignorance that's out there about infectious diseases is genuinely astounding – wherein many supposedly civilised travellers really should make themselves more aware of the risks; though remembering that at least for them there is 1st world medical help available, but where for much of the rest of the world there’s nought more than tlc and / or the grave, e.g. w.r.t.
Malaria:
- Approximately 40% of the world's population are at risk from malaria, mostly those living in the poorest countries throughout the tropical and sub-tropical regions.
- Annually there are at least 300 million acute cases of malaria ( i.e. at any one moment, approximately 5% of the planet’s population will be suffering from it in various measures ).
- Year on year, more than one million people will die as a result of Malaria.
- Around 90% of the deaths occur in Africa, where it predominantly kills young children - an African child dies from it every 30 seconds ( i.e. approximately 4 children will die as a result of malaria, during the time it takes you to read this post ) - and it is Africa's leading cause of under-five's mortality.
- Of the more than 500,000 African children who develop 'cerebral malaria' (a severe form of the disease that affects the brain) each year, 10-20% of those will die and approximately 7% ( that's ~35,000 ) are left with permanent neurological / brain damage and learning impairments.
- Children with malaria typically develop fever, vomiting, headache and flu-like symptoms. If untreated, the disease may progress rapidly (often within 24 hours) to convulsions, coma, and death.
- Malaria is a major cause of anaemia in many parts of the world. Chronic anaemia may adversely affect a child’s growth and intellectual development. Repeated episodes of malaria may lead to severe, life-threatening anaemia. Blood transfusions may save lives in these circumstances, but also expose the child to the risk of HIV and other blood-borne infections. Nb. Pregnant women and their unborn children are also particularly vulnerable to malaria, which is a major cause of perinatal mortality, low birth weight and maternal anaemia.
- Malaria constitutes 10% of the African continent's overall disease burden for which it accounts for 40% of all public health expenditure, 30-50% of In-Patient admissions, and up to 50% of outpatient visits ( in areas with high malaria transmission ).
- Malaria also presents major obstacles to social and economic development. Malaria has been estimated to cost Africa more than US$ 12 billion every year in lost GDP; even though it could be controlled, and many of the deaths prevented, for a fraction of that sum !
The above figures provided by the
World Health Organisation / WHO
… and I haven’t even touched on Dengue Fever, Cholera, Hepatitis’ A B and C, Japan Encephalitis, Polio, Tuberculosis, and Yellow.
