Malaria is a vector-borne disease that is caused by a parasite known as plasmodium and is diagnosed through a blood test. It is harbored by the female anopheles mosquito and transmitted from one person to another by the bite of the infected mosquito. It causes hemolysis of the infected which can in turn cause anemia and if left untreated malaria results in death. It affects mainly groups of people whose immunity is underdeveloped such as children below the age of five years and people whose immunity is compromised (Doctors without borders, n.d.). Malaria is common in countries with favorable conditions such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and South East Asia. The environmental factors that lead to the transmission of malaria include relative humidity, rainfall and temperature.

Relative humidity represents the percentage of air that is saturated by moisture. Mosquitoes thrive in conditions of high relative humidity which increase their chance of survival and explain why they are more active at night. Areas with relative humidity of less than 60% have little to no transmission of malaria (The Open University, 2018).

The Anopheles mosquitoes breed better in areas with availability of adequate rainfall due to the presence of enough fresh water. Therefore areas with high amount of rainfall tend to have high malaria transmission rates (The Open University, 2018). Areas that experience drought after rainfall also provide good breeding grounds due to the pooling of water after a stream ceases to actively flow (Kimbi, et al., 2013).

With the increase of temperature the ability of an anopheles mosquito to survive and successfully breed increases. Areas with a temperature range of 25ºC -27ºC are likely to have more transmission of malaria as compared to areas of lower temperature. The most extreme temperature that the mosquito can withstand is up to 40ºC (The Open University, 2018).

Though malaria has shown to have a high transmission rate in areas of high temperature, humidity and rainfall, it can be prevented and treated. The prevention entails the use of treated mosquito nets, use of safe and long acting pesticides and consumption of anti-malarial drugs while treatment involves the use of Artemisinin- based Combination Treatment (ACT) (Doctors without borders, n.d.). The major cause of death from malaria is the lack of access to treatment once the disease is contracted.

References

Doctors Without Borders (n.d.). Malaria. Retrieved from www.doctorswithoutborders.org/what-we-do/medical-issues/malaria?source=ADD170U0U02

Kimbi, H.K., Nana, Y., Sumbele, Anchang-Kimbi, I.N. … & Lehman, L.G. (2013). Environmental factors and preventive methods against malaria parasite prevalence in rural Bomaka and urban Molyko, Southwest Cameroon. Journal of Bacteriology and Parasitology, 4 (1), 1-5. DOI 10.4172/2155-9597-1000162

The Open University (2018). Communicable diseases module 6: Factors that affet malaria transmission. Retrieved from http://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=89&printable=1