Health Flashcards
World Distribution of Malaria
- Malaria is found mostly in ELDCs.
- There is a high risk near the equator (Central America, Brazil, and Central Africa)
- There is a limited risk of Malaria in ELDCs (The UK, North America, and Australia)
- In warmer countries, Malaria is more common as temperatures need to be 15-20 Degrees Celsius.
Causes of Malaria
Human
-A blood supply for her to feed on settlements provide large populations living close together. •The presence of the Malaria disease (Plasmodium) in an infected person.
-Poorly built houses to create areas of shade for the mosquitoes to rest. •Poor sanitation in shanty towns so people “store” water, an ideal area for her to lay her eggs.
-Man-made areas of stagnant water, eg paddy fields, to lay her eggs and bite people working in them.
Physical-
-Temperatures must be between 15 and 40°C for the mosquito eggs to hatch.
-Humidity of over 60%is ideal High rainfall to create stagnant water pools for breeding.
-The presence of the female Anopheles mosquito.
-Stagnant water to lay larvae, eg a lake or even a puddle.
-Areas of vegetation for shade to digest blood meal.
Effects of Malaria (economic and social)
Economic
-Families can’t work when so may lose income. This means children may lose out on an education if they can’t afford to send them to school.
-Crops may be left unharvested as Farmers too ill to work the land.
-The whole economy suffers as factories produce less when workers are absent.
-Few tourists visit the country in fear of malaria so economy further.
Social
-If not treated can cause death.
-Children under 5 and the elderly are worst affected as they have weak immune systems.
-Malaria can recur some experiencing it many times in their life.
-ELDCs have limited resources which are used up in health care fighting malaria rather than in education on or improving services which will hold back development. -Multinational companies will not want to locate in an area with risk of disease.
Strategies and Effectiveness Used to Tackle Malaria
- Insecticides, eg Malathion sprayed onto breading grounds to suffocate the larvae. These are however expensive and can stain and smell unpleasant.
- DTT sprayed onto walls & shaded areas to kill the insect. Although some mosquitoes have grown immune to DDT and it also harms the environment.
- Draining breeding grounds to flush out any larvae. This is impractical as they just refill when it rains and it is impossible to drain all of the breeding sites. Also, if dams are drained it defeats the purpose of a dam which is to store water and it may be in short supply.
- Genetic engineering to sterilize male mosquitoes to reduce the numbers of mosquito.
- Plant eucalyptus trees to soak up moisture and remove breeding ground. This can work but can also soak up valuable water needed for farmland.
- Larvae-eating fish, eg guppies to eat the larvae in ponds & provide cheap protein. They can’t eat all of the large but provide a good source of protein for the locals
- BTI coconuts destroy the stomach lining of larvae and kill them. They can control ponds for up to 45 days and coconuts are cheap and plentiful.
- Mustard seeds in ponds to drag larvae below the surface and drown them. This is environmentally friendly but is also expensive as large amounts of the seeds are needed.
- Spraying egg whites onto the stagnant water to suffocate larvae.
- Educating people, eg avoiding being bitten by covering arms and legs after dusk, and not wearing dark clothes. This can be effective but it only takes 1 mosquito.
- Insecticide-treated mosquito nets placed over beds at night to stop the mosquito biting. These are cheap and effective but do require retreating.
World distribution of HIV/AIDS
- The Distribution is very uneven across the world.
- It occurs in both ELDCs and EMDCs.
Causes of HIV/AIDS
- Drug users sharing needles which are infected.
- Having unprotected sex with an infected person.
- Babies drinking the breast milk of an infected woman.
- From mother to baby in the womb.
- Infected blood transfusions.
- Lack of preventative care, advice or medication.
- Lack of education on how the disease is transferred.
Effects of HIV/ADIS in EMDCs
- The high cost of treating the disease (ARV) and researching costs the NHS a lot.
- AIDS is a debilitating disease so eventually people with the disease can’t work, they may become dependant on state benefits.
- People who suffer from AIDS are often discriminated against in society. For example, some religious groups are less than sympathetic.
- People suffer emotional stress from being diagnosed and families do also.
