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In 2008, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (2010), between 190 and 311 million people worldwide contracted the malaria, and between 708,000 and slightly over 1 million of these cases died. In fact, CDC statistics classifies malaria as the 5th cause of death from infectious diseases worldwide; 2nd in Africa.
Although malaria is both preventable and treatable, medical treatment may be either unavailable to the patient or too expensive. In addition, the emergence of drug-resistant strains of the parasite has limited the usefulness of the standard treatments. Thus, it is extremely important to develop and exploit our ability to understand and control its spread to save lives.
What is malaria? Most people know that it is transmitted through the bite of certain mosquitoes and brings with it periodic fever and chills. Also, we know that it can be prevented by taking quinine before infection. Finally, we associate this illness with the tropics: areas, such as South and Central America, Africa, South Asia, or Papua New Guinea.
While malaria currently is mostly limited to regions of the globe with a tropical or subtropical climate, this has not always been the case. Historical data tells us that it has had a very different world distribution over previous centuries.
For instance, there are references to the disease found in an Ayurvedic medical text dating back to before 500 AD, or of ancient China, where written mentions of malaria exist from as far back as the fifth century BC (Sallares, 2008). Some historians now believe that it may have been malaria that killed Alexander the Great in 323 BC, thus stopping his invasion of India (Sherman, 2007).
In fact, for centuries, malaria was endemic around the Mediterranean, throughout most of Europe and in North America. Antibody tests have detected malaria in Egyptian mummies from around 3200 BC and later but, according to Robert Sallares (2008, p. 396), the area most affected in antiquity was classical Greece and Rome (800 BCE-500 CE); particularly Rome."
Historians now believe that the Roman Empire, its development, expansion, and downfall, may have been closely tied to malaria. Robert Sallares, a Research Fellow at the University of Manchester's Institute of Science and Technology, claims that Rome may have been founded on its famed seven hills for the purpose of avoiding the malarial-prone lowlands.
Nevertheless, since most of the population supporting the city lived in the surrounding countryside, he estimates that malaria still "had as great an impact on the economy and population [of Rome] as it does today in tropical Africa." Furthermore, "the chronic ill-health produced by malaria led many of the Romans to want to migrate." This, Sallares contends, was the beginning of, and spur for, Rome growing into an empire.
The emigration of Roman citizens away from their pestilential homeland would have created a scarcity of labor to work Rome's agricultural economy, thus fueling the importation of barbarian slaves. In addition, Irwin Sherman, in his book Twelve Diseases that Changed Our World (2007), reports that on several occasions, epidemics of malaria protected ancient Rome from conquest by barbarian invaders (such as Attila in 452 AD). Even during the Middle Ages, after Rome's fall, malaria, known as "Roman fever" helped repel French and German invading armies (Sallares, 2003). In fact, it was malaria, not superior military might or skill that stopped Frederick Barbarossa's army from attacking 12th century Rome (Sherman, 2007)!
Malaria in Europe was not limited to its southern, warmer regions, even during the first half of the 18th century although the area was still part of what scientists consider the climax of the Little Ice Age (Reiter, 2000).The CDC's website states (Reiter, 2000):
"There are numerous accounts of malaria in all the northern European countries in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The wealth of records in this period confirms that the disease was common at many coastal sites in England and in some parts of Scotland, with occasional transmission as far north as Inverness… Thus, there was endemic transmission in southern Sweden and Finland, with occasional devastating epidemics that extended to the northern end of the Gulf of Bothnia, close to the Arctic Circle."
The even colder 17th century was not immune to the disease either. "Descriptions of the marsh inhabitants [in coastal parishes of England in the 17th century] "resemble those of malaria-endemic area populations in the tropics today." (CDC, Geographic Distribution: The Marsh Parishes). The effect on the local population is clearly reflected in its mortality rate: the average crude burial rates in Kent and Essex parishes were two to three times higher in marsh areas as in non-marsh areas throughout the period 1551-1750.
At this time, as our planet is heating up, it is crucial to understand the history and nature of malaria and to marshal the necessary forces to beat back its advances. Malaria is a killer and not to be underestimated. Malaria has repeatedly affected and even changed the course of history, and it continues to be a major player on the world's health scene.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010, February 8). About malaria: Fast facts. Retrieved from CDC.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). [Map of international distribution of malaria with country-specific data]. CDC Malaria Map Application. Retrieved from CDC.gov
Reiter, P. (2000). From Shakespeare to Defoe: Malaria in England in the Little Ice Age. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 6(1). Retrieved from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site: CDC.gov
Sallares, R. (Interviewee). (2003, January 29). Malaria and Rome [Interview transcript]. Retrieved from Radio National Web site: ABC.net
Sallares, R. (2008). Malaria in the ancient world. In J.P. Byrne (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues (Vol. 1, pp. 395-398). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Retrieved from Books.Google.com
Sherman, I.W. (2007). Twelve Diseases that Changed Our World. Washington, D.C.: ASM Press.
- A Public Relations deputy manager – energetic, dedicated person desired.
- Scientist who will be a liaison between us and NOAA as well as other key agencies.
- Writers for our blog and other networking sites.
- A developer to help us make foreign language versions of our website and newsletter. The site is in Dreamweaver.
- Persons to join our Marketing team. We welcome project ideas.
- Graphic designers who know Photoshop.
- Scientists who will write newsletter articles for us.
- Persons to develop and maintain networking sites. We need a Plaxo developer, specifically.
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Malaria, dengue fever, and the West Nile Virus are deadly vector-borne diseases (those that are spread by mosquitoes) that kill thousands of people daily. Each is spread by insects, whose population is directly affected by our climate.
Thankfully, the geospatial patterns of these diseases can be predicted and anticipated by analyzing climate data. Future disease breakouts can also be prevented by identifying high-risk areas and implementing preventive measures such as using insecticides and distributing bed nets.
Certain weather conditions are conducive to disease outbreak. Malaria, which is spread by mosquitoes, kills over one million people a year. Nearly half of the world's population lives in at-risk malaria areas. While the threat of malaria is nearly global, the continent contributing the least to global warming while experiencing the worst negative climate effects, Africa, accounts for a majority of the world's cases of the disease. Studies comparing the increasing cases of reported malaria to climate show that the increase of rainfall and temperature are directly associated with disease spread (Parham & Edwin, May 2010). The increase of rainfall and temperature are linked to current trends in climate change. Specifically, studies by Parham & Edwin support the association of climate change and insect-borne diseases.
While malaria causes the greatest number of deaths, other vector-borne diseases are more likely to be felt in the United States. Is attention to these increasing threats and to climate change in general, only likely to occur when it is felt in our own backyard?
Climate variability and the distributions of disease-carrying insects, in response to climate change, are difficult to accurately document because of the relative absence of historic environmental data. Monitoring climate and vector-borne diseases, using new high-tech monitoring systems have some utility, but data must be collected for extended periods before trends can be identified.
Many of the high-tech systems, including remotely sensed satellite data, do not provide a long-term record that can sufficiently detail trends in atmospheric variables. For example, the NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), credited with many vector-borne applications, provides data beginning only from the early 1980s. Saving and digitizing data that has been collected prior to AVHRR would expedite long-term progress in vector-borne disease prevention (Mills, Gage, & Khan, 2010). Additionally, monitoring trends by using historic data is a more cost effective method of data collection. IEDRO's goal is to collect and digitize historical environmental data that can be applied towards life saving applications.
References
Mills, J. M., Gage, K. L., & Khan, A. S. (2010). Potential Influence of Climate Change on Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases: A Review and Proposed Research Plan. Environmental Health Perspectives , 118 (11), 1507-1517.
Parham, P. E., & Edwin, M. (May 2010). Modeling the Effects of Weather and Climate Change on Malaria Transmission. Environmental Health Perspectives , 620-626.
You can now do all your Amazon shopping at the IEDRO's Amazon Shop. First, use Amazon.com to search for your items then go to our site to make your order at: Amazonshop There is no extra charge for your items and you will give the earth a present as you shop.
Dr. Sharon LeDuc, retired Deputy Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), visited Bolivia's national meteorological service on February 18, 2011 on behalf of IEDRO. Dr. LeDuc gave a presentation stressing how historic weather date can be used to reduce deaths and injuries from extreme natural environmental events.
Shortly after her visit, the Bolivian Meteorological Society stated they would send IEDRO a signed memorandum of understanding. The memorandum established roles and responsibilities between the Society and IEDRO for data rescue work. Critically, the agreement will allow IEDRO to supply Bolivia's climate data to NOAA for the use of scientists worldwide.
Climate data rescue efforts are of vital important to developing nations, such as Bolivia. In 2007, severe flooding killed dozens and affected 72,000 families, forcing President Evo Morales to declare a state of emergency. Last year, heavy rains and floods threatened the livelihoods of 24,000 families, destroying houses and crops, and killing livestock.
Rescuing climate data helps scientists develop more accurate climate models that will allow governments to better prepare for extreme weather conditions and avoid unnecessary devastation and loss of human lives.
Dr. Sharon LeDuc, who retired as the Deputy Director of NOAA's NCDC in November 2010, has received sterling acclaim for her environmental work over the course of her distinguished career, including two Gold Medals from the Department of Commerce and a NOAA Administrator's award. IEDRO is proud to have her join our team.
Please click on the link below to see a list of the staff and the contributors of this issue.
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