Zika is not malaria, but it is a mosquito-borne virus. Techniques to reduce mosquito bites used for malaria prevention also work for zika prevention.
If you to avoid ever thinking about malaria, you can visit or live only in countries where malaria has been eradicated.
If you visit or live in a malaria-endemic area, you can sleep under bed nets, make sure to remove all sources of standing water, have growing around you mosquito-repelling plants, swallow a lot of vitamin B1 and garlic, take traditional therapies, take anti-malarial pharmaceuticals. That is what I do.
Swiss chemist Paul Hermann Müller was awarded "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1948" for his discovery of the high efficiency of DDT as a contact poison against several arthropods". To read his Nobel Prize lecture click here.
Chinese pharmacologist Tu Youyou was awarded the "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015" for her work identifying an ancient Chinese medicine which became artemisin. To read the Nobel Foundation description of what she accomplished click here.
Plants that repel mosquitoes
Antimalarial plants
SJ Dodgson. MJoTA 2009 3(8):201-6.
Antimalarial plants are a major reason for Africa having any humans living in the continent at all. Malaria is a deadly disease and I have read that until Europeans had access to quinine, they pretty much stayed out of Africa because malaria killed them rapidly.I searched PubMed for "antimalarial plants" and "malaria and plants". These plants are all effective when they are ingested: however, the continent of Africa is filled with plants that are effective antimalarials because they kill mosquitoes, or repel mosquitoes just by sitting and growing (pyrethrum) or when they are burned (orange peels).
My interest in plants repelling mosquitoes came from my association with the Faculty of Pharmacy and the brilliant Nigerian scientist Professor HAB Coker.... Click here for full article.
Plant-based insect repellents: a review of their efficacy, development and testing
From Malaria Journal 2011, 10(Suppl 1):S11 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-10-S1-S11. By MF Maia& SJ Moore
Most plants contain compounds that they use in preventing attack from phytophagous (plant eating) insects. These chemicals ... includ(e) repellents, feeding deterrents, toxins, and growth regulators. Most can be grouped (thus)...: (1) nitrogen compounds (primarily alkaloids), (2) terpenoids, (3) phenolics, (4) proteinase inhibitors, and (5) growth regulators. Although the primary functions of these compounds is defence against phytophagous insects, many are also effective against mosquitoes and other biting Diptera, especially those volatile components released as a consequence of herbivory [1]..... Click here for full article.
Plants That Repel Mosquitoes
Dec 13, 2011. Published on http://www.wildernesscollege.com/ (date of original publication unknown). By Jason Knight
.... a variety of both wild and cultivated plants..repel mosquitoes..... Plant-based mosquito repellents are especially useful for people who spend a great deal of time in the wilderness.
It .. is compounds found within the plants that do the repelling. These compounds (must) be released from the plant to unlock the mosquito-repelling qualities. ...they can be released by either crushing, drying, or infusing the plant into an oil or alcohol base that can be applied to skin, clothing, or living spaces. Others are best used as as a smudge, which releases the compounds in a smoke. .. standing near living plants that repel mosquitoes is often not effective.... For full article, click here.
Progress in the search for preventing malaria by vaccination
The search for a vaccine against malaria is continuing. A major site for malaria vaccine research was the Walter Reed Hospital; this has closed and the work continues mainly through US Government and industry partnerships. A vaccine will eliminate malaria and go a long way to eliminating poverty that comes in areas with endemic malaria which results in frequent illness and frequent early death.
GlaxoSmithKline reports results from ongoing Phase III trial show malaria vaccine candidate, RTS,S* reduces the risk of malaria by half in African children aged 5 to 17 months.
18 October 2011. Half the world's population is at risk of malaria which is responsible for close to 800,000 deaths each year, most of whom are children under five in sub-Saharan Africa
First results from a large-scale Phase III trial of RTS,S, for full article, click here.
Towards an African-Driven Malaria Vaccine Development Program: History and Activities of the African Malaria Network Trust (AMANET)
Wen L. Kilama, Roma Chilengi, and Charles L. Wanga. African Malaria Network Trust, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
The African Malaria Network Trust (AMANET), whose mission is to promote capacity strengthening of African malaria research institutions, was founded in 2002 and is currently focusing on malaria vaccine development. For full article, click here.
The History of Malaria, an Ancient Disease, from CDC.gov
Feb 8, 2010. Malaria or a disease resembling malaria has been noted for more than 4,000 years. From the Italian for "bad air," mal'aria has probably influenced to a great extent human populations and human history.
The symptoms of malaria were described in ancient Chinese medical writings. In 2700 BC, several characteristic symptoms of what would later be named malaria were described in the Nei Ching, The Canon of Medicine). For entire article, click here.
Articles on malaria and sickle cell laid out as pdfs in Medical Journal of Therapeutics Africa
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