Preventing Malaria Without The Use Of Drugs

It is a well-known statement that 'prevention is better and cheaper than cure.' Prevention is the most important thing health-care personnel concern themselves with.
Most diseases in the country can be prevented with cheap methods that do not require buying drugs. This is unlike treatment that most time needs the services of drugs.

Malaria disease, one of the world most deadly disease can be prevented with some easy methods. It is a very common illness in Africa and Asia. There are about 250 million cases yearly. This has led to about 1 million deaths so far.


The risk of malaria infection has risen to 109 countries with an estimated 3 billion people risk getting the infection.

Over the years, there has been a strong drive by World Health Organisation (W.H.O) to eradicate malaria from the world most especially developing countries. This has led to a partnership with some country government one of which is Nigeria who is at the forefront.

Malaria disease is caused by four species of Plasmodium parasite, the deadliest being Plasmodium falciparum. In other to defeat this parasite, it is best to know its life cycle.


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Life Cycle Of Malaria Parasite

The parasite starts its life from the mosquito, which happened to be a primary host. This is achieved when a female Anopheles mosquito gets a blood meal from an infected blood. The parasite, after achieving some level of development in the mosquito is transmitted to a human host that is healthy. This occurs when there is a bite from the mosquito. This, thus, completes the cycle.

Since the parasite can be transmitted from a mosquito, we can win the war against malaria by cutting down on the primary host, the mosquito. It is difficult to prevent the disease once it gets into the body. This can be achieved by targeting the various life stages of the mosquito.

Life Cycle Of A Mosquito

1.     The female mosquito locates a damp place and lays her eggs there.
2.     The eggs hatch to larva, which lives in the water. They feed on microbes in the water.
3.     Pupa stage is a dormant stage, which grows to an adult mosquito.
4.     The adult mosquito develops hard body and flies away in search of food.

The mosquito feeds on sugary foods, which can be found in the nectar of plants while females add blood meals to nourish the eggs they carry.

Principle Of Prevention And Control Method

The best way to prevent malaria is to break the man-vector contact cycle of transmission. This method involves:

Targeted Method

  • Killing of mosquitoes whenever they are seen.
  • The use of long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets.
  • Indoor residual sprays
  • The use of mosquito repellent, fumigants and wearing white long sleeves clothes since mosquitoes normally avoid white colours.
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Non-Targeted Method

Mosquito breeding

Mosquito lays their eggs in stagnant or slow moving water. That means that they will be looking out for a suitable environment that contains both were to feed on blood meals and to lay their eggs. They closer the two places are to each other, the happier they will be. 

Better to cut off the means of survival by destroying anywhere they can lay their eggs like fill up swamps in our environments. Toilets with water reservoirs should be covered properly and if it is a water closet, the seat covered since they may want to lay their eggs there. Repair leaking tanks, pipes, and taps. Water that cannot be covered should be made saline with kerosene or powder of Paris green. Some methods that cannot be implemented everywhere are the use of biological control method like the use of larvicidal fishes. They eat up the larva of the mosquito.

Mosquito Feeding

During warfare, one of the techniques to defeat an enemy is to cut off his food supply. This old, tested method can be employed here. Prevent mosquito from feeding and they will go somewhere else to get the food. Remove all nectar bearing fruits and flowers including trees from your environment. They include plants like mint, rosemary, sedumes, sunflowers, bluebells, common yarrows etc.

Preventing mosquito bite should involve multiple approaches and not just one method. However, the most effective method of all has been the use of MOSQUITO BED NET.
Mosquito Net
Insecticide Mosquito Bed Net

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