Thursday, March 28, 2024 | 22:24 WIB

The ABCDs of malaria prevention

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dr. Doni Priambodo Wijisaksono, Sp.PD-KPTI
dr. Doni Priambodo Wijisaksono, Sp.PD-KPTI. (Source: SARDJITO HOSPITAL)

The Anopheles mosquito that carries malarial parasites have their own breeding spots. In general, they love lagoons, fish ponds, rice fields, or plantations – in short, where water tend to puddle and become stagnant. “We need to intervene with the spread of malaria to prevent it. Among other measures, we can sleep using mosquito nets and control breeding/larval grounds using larvicidal and environmental modifications. The people’s independent effort and the contribution of all sectors are important to ensure the optimality of malaria mitigation efforts,” dr. Tiffany said. 

Varied Symptoms and Complaints 

Separately, dr. Doni Priambodo Wijisaksono, Sp.PD-KPTI, Dr. Sardjito Yogyakarta’s Central General Hospital internist specializing in tropical infections, reported that out of the 400+ types of Anopheles mosquitos living in tropical and sub-tropical areas, only 30-40 spread malaria. In Indonesia, the biggest malaria infector is Anopheles sundaicus, a yellowish mosquito that hates the cold and stings down by forming a 45o angle with its butt. The Anopheles generally goes out for blood from the evening to the morning, unlike the Aedes aegypty who spread out dengue fever by biting people in the morning until the afternoon. You can’t help but marvel with this divine “work shifts” of dangerous insects. 

“Malaria is a parasitic disease that we all need to be wary of, apart from diarrhea and worm infestations. With this disease, half of the life cycle of the Plasmodium parasite is spent within the bodies of mosquitos, half within humans. The blood of a human that already contains parasites will be held by the mosquito that sucks it, then the mosquito will spread the parasite into the blood stream of another human when they sting that new human and suck their blood. Plasmodium has a 10-15 day incubation period, and they have five types: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium knowlesi,” dr. Doni said in a live IG session on Monday (25/04/2022). 

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