Explain how each of the following could lead to the reemergence of malaria in the United States: (a) global warming, (b) increased travel of individuals from endemic regions to the United States, (c) increased immigration of individuals from endemic regions to the United States, and (d) laws protecting wetlands.

Explain how each of the following could lead to the reemergence of malaria in the United States: (a) global warming, (b) increased travel of individuals from endemic regions to the United States, (c) increased immigration of individuals from endemic regions to the United States, and (d) laws protecting wetlands.

This week we are shifting our focus to looking at microbial diseases by body system. One of the many diseases you all will learn about this week is Malaria. Malaria is a bloodborne infection caused by the parasite, Plasmodium. Plasmodium is a eukaryotic microbe that is classified as a protozoan (Bauman, 2018). Although there are over 100 species of Plasmodium, only four that naturally cause disease in humans. These four species of Plasmodium include Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum), Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax), Plasmodium malariae (P. malariae), and Plasmodium ovale (P. ovale) (Bauman, 2018). A fifth species, P. knowlesi, is a pathogen that naturally infects macaques, an animal found in found throughout Southeast Asia (CDC, 2020). Humans living in this region of the world can acquire this pathogen via zoonotic means from these animals. The prior mentioned four species of Plasmodium are transmitted to humans by the bite of a pregnant, female, Anopheles mosquito. I have included an image below from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website, that does a wonderful job of illustrating the three phases of the parasites’ lifecycle as they are transmitted from mosquitoes to humans and back to mosquitoes. According to the CDC’s website, approximately “2,000 cases of malaria are diagnosed in the United States each year” ( CDC, 2020). However, most of these cases are travel-associated, meaning that these cases are associated with individuals that either traveled to areas where Malaria is endemic or from immigrants that have come to the country from regions where Malaria is endemic. Although Malaria is no longer endemic to the United States, there are a number of factors that impact this disease’s transmission. This week’s discussion forum asks you to consider specific factors that could potentially lead to the reemergence of this infectious disease in our country. For your reference, I have also included two videos below on Malaria and one of the listed factors to consider for this week, global warming.

How global warming is causing more cases of mosquito-born diseases | Your Morning

Climate change and malaria | short version | Global Ideas

Last Completed Projects