4.1 Diseases and malaria

Geography

Grade 5

Health and well-being

Module 33

Diseases: malaria, tuberculosis, cholera

We shall now take a look at a few serious diseases that are found all over the world. These terrible diseases are often the cause of many deaths.

Malaria

• Origin and nature:Malaria is a disease that is found in the tropical and subtropical climactic zones (mostly in the northern parts of South Africa). It is caused by a tiny parasite that enters the bloodstream when one is bitten by a certain female mosquito. The parasite spends part of its life cycle in the human body. It multiplies rapidly. It attacks the red blood corpuscles and this makes one very weak indeed. It can also cause death. Many patients suffer from recurrent malaria attacks for years after the first attack.

• Typical symptoms:

• severe headaches;
• bouts of shivering;
• reddish-brown urine;
• a high fever and heavy sweating.

• Treatment:

The patient is taken to hospital immediately, and the area is very carefully inspected for more cases of the disease. If there are many other cases in the same area, one has to look for the mosquitoes’ breeding-place and once it has been found, it must be sprayed with insecticide. The patients’ homes are also fumigated.

• Prevention:

Activity 1:

To find out more about preventative measures in the prevention of malaria

[lo 1.6]

Tuberculosis (TB)

• Origin and nature: Tuberculosis (TB) is a very serious, contagious disease that occurs particularly in mines and in areas where people live very close together and where the standard of hygiene is low. It can also be connected to poverty, and it is much more prevalent where people who are vulnerable to this disease do not have enough money to buy sufficient nourishing food.

Are people in your immediate environment exposed to such hazards? Have a group discussion on this issue.

The human body weakens and becomes highly susceptible to diseases such as TB. Often many people from the same area have the same disease, and then we say there is an epidemic of that particular disease. TB germs can spread very swiftly. For example, if someone who is incubating the disease coughs near other people, he or she could infect them quite easily.

• Typical symptoms:A TB patient:

• coughs a lot;
• often complains of a tight chest;
• has a very poor appetite and eats very little;
• regularly has a high temperature and perspires a lot at night;
• loses a lot of weight;
• has swollen glands.

• Treatment:

TB patients take tablets as medication. The disease can be cured on condition that the patient takes the tablets regularly as prescribed and continues to do so even when the symptoms have already disappeared.

• Prevention:

A healthy, nourishing daily diet and good sanitary habits are necessary. Babies should be vaccinated against TB so that their bodies can develop resistance to the disease.

Cholera

• Origin and nature:This extremely serious disease usually occurs in hot, humid conditions, such as those that are found in the subtropical areas along the east coast of our country. It occurs in areas where there is no fresh running water, tap water or proper sewerage systems (in densely-populated areas and where there are poor sanitary conditions). In such an area human sewage often lands up in streams and dams, and causes contamination of the water.