To spread the awareness among the masses on Malaria, students and staff of Aryans Institute of Nursing (AIN), Near Chandigarh today organized an awareness campaign in nearby villages on the theme “End Malaria for Good” one day before to the World Malaria Day. Students of GNM, ANM, BA, B.Ed, MA (Edu), BBA, BCA etc participated in this drive. It is to be mentioned that world malaria Day is celebrated in all over the world on 25th April every year.
Students highlighted the causes, effects, symptoms and preventive measures of the Malaria. While explaining the cause they said that Malaria is transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. Infected mosquitoes carry the Plasmodium parasite. When this mosquito bites, the parasite is released into the bloodstream. The parasite then travel to the liver, where they mature. After several days, the mature parasites enter the bloodstream and begin to infect red blood cells. Within 48 to 72 hours, the parasites inside the red blood cells multiply, causing the infected cells to burst open.
Ms Parul Guleria, Lecturer, Nursing Dept while interacting with the villagers told them various symptoms of malaria including abdominal pain, chills and sweats, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting (these symptoms only appear sometimes), headache, high fevers, low blood pressure causing dizziness, muscle aches and poor appetite.Parul further added that reports said that since 2000, malaria prevention has played an important role in reducing cases and deaths, primarily through the scale up of insecticide-treated nets and indoor spraying with insecticides.Prof. B.S Sidhu, Registrar, Aryans Group while discussing the Malaria reports said that in 2015, there were 212 million new cases of malaria and 4,29,000 deaths. One child dies from malaria every two minutes as per the World Malaria report of 2016.It is to be mentioned that WHO’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria, calls for a 40% reduction in malaria cases and deaths by 2020, compared to 2015 baseline levels. Less than half (40) of the world’s 91 countries with malaria transmission are on track to achieve these milestones.