Malaria is a mosquito borne disease. It threatens millions of people globally. Malaria is caused by protozoan parasites Plasmodium .Out of the five Plasmodium species infecting man, two species Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are accountable for the bulk of the global burden of human malaria. Vivax malariis is often known as benign tertian malaria. But it is incorrectly assumed to be benign because it is acute and severe. A person with vivax malari experiences paroxysms of high fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and musculoskeletal pain. Recently, a sort of severe disease syndromes that closely resembles to falciparum malaria including renal failure, cerebral malaria, jaundice, anaemia, seizures, acute respiratory distress syndrome, thrombocytopenia, pulmonary edema, hyperparasitaemia, splenic rupture and death, have been noticed in patients with vivax malaria. Relapse infection arises weeks to years following the primary episode of vivax malaria. Relapse infections are the main obstacle to the effective control and elimination of vivax malaria.
Vivax malaria is distributed in 95 countries of the world and accountable for a substantial health burden in Asia, Central and South America, Oceania, southeastern Europe and some parts of Africa.About 130 to 435 million people suffer from clinical attacks of vivax malaria each year and inflicts a huge socioeconomic burden on endemic countries.
Being a developing country, malaria isa significant public health problem in Pakistan.Both falciparum and vivax malaria are reported from Pakistan.Pakistan is among the top 10 countries estimated for the highest population at risk for vivax malaria. Extensive agricultural practices coupled with vast irrigation network, monsoon rains, sizeable population movements and a complex political situation in certain border areas increase perceived growing risk of malaria in Pakistan. Malaria is predominantly more prevalent in the rural areas.
Malaria is transmitted to man by the bite of infected mosquito. Controlling the mosquito has played a significant role in the reduction of malaria. Residual insecticides are used for control of mosquito both at larval and adult stage. But the extensive use of insecticides has led to the emergence of resistance in mosquitoes to available insecticide. This is alarming for scientific society and controlling bodies. World Health Organization emphasizes on the use of non insecticidal and environmentally friendly methods for control of malaria mosquito. Domestic animals which are not reservoir host of malaria can play important role in the control of disease particularly in areas where mosquito prefer to feed on both animals and man. The practice is known as zoo prophylaxis. Pakistan’s economy is agrarian and livestock contributed 11.6% to GDP during 2011-12. Proper management of livestock can help in the control of malaria in Pakistan.
A Ph.D study on detection and control of vivax malaria was conducted by Ph.D scholar Sarwat Naz under the supervision of Professor Dr. Azhar Maqbool in department of Parasitology, University of Veterinary and Animal Science, Lahore, Pakistan. According to that study, the prevalence of vivax malaria was slightly lower in patients keeping livestock in their compound than the patients not keeping livestock in their compound. The presence of vivax malaria organism in man and mosquitoes was confirmed by microscopic examination, ELISA and PCR tests. It was also confirmed in the study that malaria transmitting mosquitoes in Pakistan take a blood feed from humans and animals. Ivermectin a medicine commonly used in livestock for control of ticks and internal parasites reduce the survival of mosquitoes that transmit malaria to human.
