KILLER MALARIA
Malaria is caused by a parasite which is spread by blood-sucking mosquitoes
Alarm as ‘super malaria’ spreads in South East Asia
By James Gallagher Health and Science reporter (BBC News website 22 September 2017)
The rapid spread of “super malaria” in South East Asia is an alarming global threat, scientists are warning.
This dangerous form of the malaria parasite cannot be killed with the main anti-malaria drugs.
It emerged in Cambodia but has since spread through parts of Thailand, Laos and has arrived in southern Vietnam.
The team at the Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Bangkok said there was a real danger of malaria becoming untreatable.
Prof Arjen Dondorp, the head of the malaria unit, told the BBC News website: “We think it is a serious threat.
“It is alarming that this strain is spreading so quickly through the whole region and we fear it can spread further [and eventually] jump to Africa.”
Failing treatments
In a letter, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the researchers detail the “recent sinister development” that has seen resistance to the drug artemisinin emerge.
About 212 million people are infected with malaria each year. It is caused by a parasite that is spread by blood-sucking mosquitoes and is a major killer of children.
The first choice treatment for malaria is artemisinin in combination with piperaquine.
But as artemisinin has become less effective, the parasite has now evolved to resist piperaquine too.
There have now been “alarming rates of failure”, the letter says.
Prof Dondorp said the treatment was failing around a third of the time in Vietnam while in some regions of Cambodia the failure rate was closer to 60%.
Resistance to the drugs would be catastrophic in Africa, where 92% of all malaria cases happen.
‘Against the clock’
There is a push to eliminate malaria in the Greater Mekong sub-region before it is too late.
Prof Dondorp added: “It’s a race against the clock – we have to eliminate it before malaria becomes untreatable again and we see a lot of deaths.
“If I’m honest, I’m quite worried.”
Michael Chew, from the Wellcome Trust medical research charity, said: “The spread of this malaria ‘superbug’ strain, resistant to the most effective drug we have, is alarming and has major implications for public health globally.
“Around 700,000 people a year die from drug-resistant infections, including malaria.
“If nothing is done, this could increase to millions of people every year by 2050.”
The #1 Effective Malaria Prevention
One: The first way to protect yourself from malaria is to protect yourself from mosquitoes. Don’t sleep out in the open or near to any places that have stagnant water. Avoid sleeping in areas that are close to lakes, ponds, garbage dumps, flower beds, or even fish tanks. These are the perfect places for mosquitoes to reproduce more carriers of the malarial parasite. Keep a mosquito spray handy in your room and cover your bed with an enclosed mesh that has been sprayed with insecticides so that you can ward off the mosquitoes while you are asleep. (Our Family Nets are already treated with insecticide)
Always check that the mesh doesn’t have any holes or damages. It’s not advised to sleep outdoor in places that where malaria is rampant, but should you need to, cover the top of your tent with mosquito mesh and ensure that there are no holes in the tent or the mesh through which mosquitoes can get through. Wear long-sleeved garments when you are sleeping. This might be a bit uncomfortable if you are in a hot region, but it will help to keep your skin protected.
Excerpt from https://www.getholistichealth.com/28551/5-most-important-ways-to-prevent-malaria/
Malaria kills – but, not if we can help it! 
We are tackling this issue head-on, together with others who also see the great need, and want to do something about it. We can definitely make a huge difference to many families at risk.
‘Saving lives – Saving Souls’ is our aim and motto.
Saving lives: We bulk-buy WHO approved, insecticide (permethrin) treated, quality mosquito nets which are guaranteed for 25 washes. They are rot-proof, diamond shaped, synthetic material. We buy in bulk at huge savings and we can buy and distribute these mozzie nets where most needed, for less than a mere $5 each – the price of a cappucino coffee, to save a family from killer malaria.
Saving Souls: With every Mozzie net we include a clear Gospel Message brochure that offers people a wonderful hope and future, and how to get more info. These Brochures are very welcome and gladly received by everyone. Where possible, to help the many who are illiterate, we read and share this Message verbally.
