This disease reminds me of the bubonic plague which we studied earlier in the year because it is spread through an animal vector. Unfortunately, this factor makes the disease more difficult to control. Unlike Smallpox which was only spread from person to person, Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease, making it harder to contain and prevent the spread of disease.
I found this article to be very exciting and inspiring. It is very comforting to know that diseases are not something we have to live in fear of. As shown in history, and in the present day, infectious diseases can be treated, even in the poorest of countries. While it may be more difficult to prevent and cure disease in third world countries, it is still very possible. Foundations like Malaria No More give hope that this awful disease which, "literally sucks the lifeblood (energy, livelihood and productivity) from the African continent" can be gotten rid of. This article leads me to believe that there may be a possibility that Malaria can be eradicated in the future.
Read more at: http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/11/opinion/edlund-malaria-progress/index.html?iref=allsearch
http://redbrickreviews.blogspot.com/2013/02/malaria-2013.html
This article was interesting to me. I am excited to hear that malaria is in the process of becoming eraticated in Africa. I know that this disease has killed many, many people in Africa so if it was able to be eraticated that would be awesome and save many lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you that this article was very interesting and uplifting. Malaria has hit Africa hard and knowing that the numbers are decreasing of the infected is a positive thing. It gives us hope that this is going in the right direction and that the Malaria No More foundation is doing their job.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading the summary of this article I had no idea how much progress people have made to eradicate Malaria from Africa. It is, like Katie, Hadley and Bridget have said, uplifting to hear that Africa is that much closer to solving a huge problem they have been having for decades. Hopefully in the upcoming decades we can read more and more about the progression of getting rid of Malaria in Africa.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to learn that a disease that causes so much harm is in the process of being cured. I thought it was interesting to know that from 2002-2012 the percentage of deaths in children under the age of 5 was reduced by 51%. I liked what Katie said that "diseases are not something we have to live in fear of." It is comforting to know that steps are being taken to cure a disease that causes so many deaths.
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