Today (April 25) is World Malaria Day: Know the difference between malaria and Covid-19

Today (April 25) is World Malaria Day and this year the focus is on maintaining robust healthy systems, especially in high-burden African countries.

Africa accounts for about 70 per cent of the global malaria burden, according to Sherwin Charles, co-founder and CEO of Goodbye Malaria.

The global theme for World Malaria Day 2020 is ‘Zero Malaria Starts with Me’, marking the success in the fight against malaria, while emphasising the power and responsibility that everybody has – no matter who they are or where they live – to prevent the continued spread of infectious diseases like malaria.

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“Covid-19 has exposed the extreme fragility in the ability of the world’s systems to respond to a new and highly infectious pathogen,” Charles said.

“It is therefore imperative that we continue strengthening resilient health and surveillance systems to help us respond to emerging diseases while also protecting and advancing hard-fought progress against malaria, a long-standing deadly and dangerous foe.”

To ensure a united stance is taken in this regard, Charles said integrated public-private efforts are required.

“The private and public sectors need to work collaboratively, engaging and enabling communities and members of society to take actions that will protect their families, ensuring the fight against malaria and other emerging health threats are equitable and most importantly, people centered.

“There is a real and growing risk that malaria deaths will rise during the Covid-19 outbreak, if malaria control programmes are postponed and parents refrain from taking sick children to health clinics out of fear of infection.

“We are reminded of the reality of disease resurgence when looking back on the Ebola outbreaks that affected West African regions between 2014 and 2016, breaking out again in central Africa in 2018, and causing a spike in malaria cases in the process.”

Charles added it is a sobering shock that something as small as a mosquito bite can kill a child.

However, malaria remains a disease of poverty and inequality, with the most vulnerable members of society at greatest risk, particularly pregnant women and children under five in sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2018, close to 900 000 children across 38 African countries were born with a low birth weight due to malaria in pregnancy and children under five still accounted for two-thirds of all malaria deaths worldwide.

“Over the past two decades, however, we’ve made great strides in the fight against malaria, saving more than seven million lives and preventing over a billion malaria cases,” noted Charles.

Goodbye Malaria initiatives are mainly focused in Mozambique, South Africa and Eswatini.

To learn more about Goodbye Malaria and the impactful work they do visit their website (goodbyemalaria.com).

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Covid-19 versus malaria
Although both diseases share the characteristics of not respecting borders and if not treated timeously may lead to devastating effects, they are fundamentally different.

It is vital that the public understands the risks of Covid-19 and malaria in a world where one can contract the two at the same time and both pose a significant health threat.

On the one hand, Covid-19 has caused most of the world to go into lockdown with devastating economic impact.

This completely new (novel) virus has no known cure, leaving scientists scrambling to develop a vaccine.

Covid-19 symptoms include a fever, cough and shortness of breath.

On the other hand, malaria infects more than 230 million people every year with a death toll of over 400 000.

Spread by the anopheles mosquito, 90 per cent of malaria cases occur in malaria-prone areas like Sub-Saharan Africa.

Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, nausea and the chills. Malaria is easily diagnosed with a simple prick of the finger.

If not treated within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms, it can progress to severe illness and in some cases, if not treated, death shortly thereafter especially among children under the age of five.

When looking at the symptoms, some similarity between the two can be found.

Both diseases are identified by high-grade fevers, headaches, shivers and fatigue.

According to Sherwin Charles, co-founder and CEO of Goodbye Malaria, the difference is a sore throat, cough and shortness of breath are not common features of malaria and would more likely indicate a Covid-19 infection.
If you show any of the shared symptoms and live in a malaria area, Charles urges that the best thing you can do is to first have the malaria test done.

Diagnosis and treatment can be obtained from any local clinic. Health professional should be actively aware of the potential Covid-19 infection and should know that malaria can prove fatal in the short term but should employ Covid-19 safety precautions.

According to Prof Lucille Blumberg, deputy director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), malaria is common, seasonal and treatable and any delay in diagnosis may lead to complications and death.

“Ignoring killer diseases like malaria in the fight against Covid-19 could amplify devastation by undermining the provision of health services for other diseases.”

Prof Blumberg said time is of the essence if you do have malaria.

“You will need urgent treatment. Once you test negative for malaria, you can investigate further by having a Covid-19 test done.”

How to lower risk of contracting malaria
* Mosquitoes that carry the malaria-causing parasite usually strike between dusk and dawn.
* Spray your home with a relevant insecticide.
* Wear long pants and shirts
* Use fans and mosquito repellent.
* If you are travelling to a malaria area, you can take anti-malarial medication which has proven an extremely effective method of prevention.