Tea a cure for malaria: focus on malaria
The science development network just posted an article on the benefits of herbal tea for treating malaria.
the article states
'' A herbal tea that could combat malaria is due to start its first clinical trial in July, researchers have announced.
The brew, called Saye, will be trialled against the conventional malariadrug artemisinin with funding from the Ministry of Health in Burkina Faso. The Saye tea has been used in the country for more than 30 years.
Saye is a mixture of three plants, including the root of the local N’Dribalaplant (Cochlospermum planchonii), and was first licensed as a herbal medicine in Burkina Faso ten years ago. But the compounds it contains that might act against malaria have yet to be identified.
An article published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine last week (15 April) explores the anecdotal and laboratory results for Saye ahead of the clinical trial in humans......
http://www.scidev.net/global/malaria/news/herbal-tea-treat-malaria-clinical-trial-drug.html
in Zimbabwe,
Malaria is the third leading cause of illness and mortality in Zimbabwe. Forty-five of the country’s 62 districts are malarial, with 33 categorized as high burden malaria areas. The 2002 malaria stratification estimates that about half the population is living in high-risk areas. Malaria incidence in Zimbabwe appears to be decreasing nationally, while remaining a major challenge in certain districts. According to an external program review done in 2011, malaria incidence decreased from 1.8 million cases in 2006 to about 600,000 in 2010 (http://harare.usembassy.gov/presidents_malaria_initiative.html )
According to its Epidemic-Prone Diseases, Deaths and Public Health Events report for the week ending May 19, 12 730 cases and 20 deaths due to malaria were recorded.
“Of the cases reported, 1 903 cases and five deaths were under the age of five years,” reads the report.
Buhera district had the highest number of deaths recorded with 12, Mudzi district recorded two deaths, Parirenyatwa recorded two deaths while Mt Darwin, Chimanimani district and Chipinge district recorded one death each,” reads part of the report.
The provinces which reported the highest number of malaria cases were Manicaland with 3 857 and Mashonaland Central 2 987. (https://www.newsday.co.zw/2013/05/28/zimbabwe-malaria-deaths-rise-to-243/ )
what causes malaria?
Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells.
Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs. http://www.who.int/topics/malaria/en/
Key facts
- Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
- In 2013, malaria caused an estimated 584 000 deaths (with an uncertainty range of 367 000 to 755 000), mostly among African children.
- Malaria is preventable and curable.
- Increased malaria prevention and control measures are dramatically reducing the malaria burden in many places.
- Non-immune travellers from malaria-free areas are very vulnerable to the disease when they get infected.
According to the latest estimates, released in December 2014, there were about 198 million cases of malaria in 2013 (with an uncertainty range of 124 million to 283 million) and an estimated 584 000 deaths (with an uncertainty range of 367 000 to 755 000). Malaria mortality rates have fallen by 47% globally since 2000, and by 54% in the WHO African Region.
Most deaths occur among children living in Africa where a child dies every minute from malaria. Malaria mortality rates among children in Africa have been reduced by an estimated 58% since 2000.
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Key interventions to control malaria include: prompt and effective treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapies; use of insecticidal nets by people at risk; and indoor residual spraying with insecticide to control the vector mosquitoes. ( extracted from WHO website ..http://www.who.int/topics/malaria/en/ and http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/
Books in the collection on malaria
1.management of malaria: a malaria module
2. a color atlas of tropical medicine and parasitology by peters and Giles
3.Malaria current topics and reviews
4. management of servere malaria: a handbook
5. tropical and infectious diseases, principles and pathogens and practice by R L guerrant
websites that have information include :
1. http://www.scidev.net/global/health/malaria/2. publications online
world malaria report 2014.
http://www.who.int/entity/malaria/publications/world_malaria_report_2014/en/index.html
3. guidelines for the treatment of malaria
http://www.who.int/entity/malaria/publications/atoz/9789241547925/en/index.html
for this and more information, please visit our library located in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe at Mpilo Hospital, 3rd floor.
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