Malaria in Nigeria. Is it a big deal?

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I believe malaria is a big deal for Nigeria. Despite many significant programs to combat Malaria like NMEP, Nigeria is still not closer to beating Malaria.

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But we don’t take it seriously, though.

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I believe it should be considered a big deal, seeing as it is among the top 3 causes of death in under 5 children

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probably because we’ve gotten used to it, and very poor access and expensive access to medical care

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Yeah, Malaria is like your average headache, no one bothers about it

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@claire but isn’t it true that Individuals who are repeatedly exposed to malaria develop antibodies against the sporozoite or malaria causing antigens?

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general sanitation levels in the country are low … for example… our drainage by the roads are in many cases blocked with various waste materials … leading to bad flow of sewage . Creating a good breeding grounds for mosquitoes

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Yeah. Although, I know of a program that was carried out earlier this year in Kogi and Ebonyi states that was basically about training medicine vendors in hard to reach areas to manage and treat Malaria, Diarrhoea and suspected cases of pneumonia in under 5 children. The aim of this is to reduce the rate of deaths due to these diseases. The questions now are “how sustainable is this program?” and “will the vendors recognise their roles in the eradication of these diseases?”. One can only hope for the best as we all know that most of these vendors are money oriented.

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A lot is research is being made on human genetic immunity to malaria, do we think this is an area where our government or research institutions should look into?

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On the contrary, people who are constantly exposed to malaria and always have to take drugs for it are more likely to get resistant to the mainstream treatment.

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So the phrase “What doesn’t kill you make you stronger” does not apply to malaria and the human body developing its own immunity after some certain amount years? lol

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Hmm, I don’t think this is sustainable.

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I think what we need to concentrate more on is the prevention of malaria especially with the use of insecticide treated nets. When I was at Kogi state we noticed that malaria was actually very rampant there and this was mostly because most households weren’t making use of mosquito nets even though they owned them. I believe that if every household in Nigeria owns at least one bed net, there will be a significant reduction in mortality rates attributed to malaria.

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Lol. Actually that phrase applies more to the malaria parasite than the host (human), but antimicrobial resistance is a whole other topic which can also be discussed.

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Exactly, because the program is coming to an end this year and this intervention will probably be abandoned once the program ends.

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the net is not really liked considering it traps the mosquito with u… so its ineffective …the insecticides are weak too

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Some people said the mosquito nets cause heat too.

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Lol, if used properly and if cared for properly, it works perfectly fine. Moreover, half bread is better than none

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But isn’t it airier than wrapper… if you check, these same people will still cover themselves with a wrapper. why not just use a net then

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