Thriving mosquitoes

by Luca Catalano Gonzaga
Part of Child survival in a changing climate
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Malaria is extremely reactive to climate change. Increased rainfall, temperatures and humidity levels favor mosquitoes and parasites proliferation and the ensuing transmission of this disease. Malaria is the main cause of mortality in Zambia, with nearly 4.3 million cases and 50 thousand deaths per year. It accounts for one fourth of all child deaths and about 50% of children affected by malaria are hospitalized. The typical symptoms, which appear only a few days after infection, include fever, nausea, headache and joints pain. Children under the age of 5 can die in less than 24hours. The “Mtendere Mission” Hospital in Chirundu, located in Southern Zambia, on the border with Zimbabwe, plays a fundamental role in the treatment of this terrible disease. Africa is the epicenter of malaria, the area where – based od data collected in 2018 – 98% out of the 228 million yearly cases occur. Thanks to the efforts to eradicate malaria at global level, the areas where malaria still proliferates have been decreasing remarkably. Yet the impact of climate changes may impair the geography and ecosystems of its transmission. (text by Luca Catalano Gonzaga).

  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. A rainy day near Chirundu city. Malaria is a disease that responds directly to climate change. Increased rainfall, temperatures and humidity levels, favor the population of mosquitoes and the resulting transmission of this disease.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Lamek,10 years old, affected from malaria, is lying in the bed of his hut in a village in the Chirundu District. In Zambia, malaria is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children under the age of five. It accounts for up to 40 % of all infant mortality, thereof 15–20 % of deaths happen in children under-the age of 5. Climate change is expected to affect the global spread, intensity and distribution of malaria.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Isaac, a few months old child, suffering from malaria. In the upcoming years, climate change is expected to alter the distribution of diseases transmitted by malaria. Children under the age of 5 and pregnant women are the categories most at risk.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. The older brother hugs the younger one who is suffering from malaria.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. A doctor takes care of a child suffering from malaria at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. A mother looks after her sick baby, Constance, nine months old and already suffering from malaria. Constance, as other children, arrived in critical conditions at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. A doctor takes care of a child suffering from malaria at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Mothers awaiting news of their children presumably affected by malaria.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. A doctor takes care of a child suffering from malaria at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Inside the Mtendere Mission Hospital, dedicated to children suffering from malaria. The Hospital, is located in Southern Zambia along its border with Zimbabwe, plays a fundamental role in the treatment of this terrible disease. It serves the Chirundu district – an area of approximately 150km and home to about 60.000 inhabitants – as well as patients from other districts and its capital city Lusaka.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Misozi Tembo, 27 years old, praying for her child, suffering from malaria and hospitalized at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Temperature control at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital. Zambia is among the 20 countries with the highest incidence of and mortality by malaria in the world.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Mothers awaiting news of their children presumably affected by malaria.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. A father with his sick child, suffering from malaria at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital. Climate change affects transmission of vector-borne diseases such as malaria.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. A doctor takes care of a child suffering from malaria at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Parents have just received the news that their son is suffering from malaria. Climate change can lead to a new increase in malaria. In fact, it is very responsive to climate change: it thrives in warm and humid environments, suitable for the mosquitoes that spread this disease.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Little girl lying in her bed at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital. Climate change can lead to a new expansion of malaria. In fact, it is very responsive to climate change: it thrives in warm and humid environments, suitable for the mosquitoes that spread this disease.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. A woman who just got told her daughter fall sick with malaria at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. A ward at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital for children suffering from malaria. The typical symptoms, which appear only a few days after infection, include fever, nausea, headache and joints pain. Children under the age of 5 can die in less than 24 hours.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Inside the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Mother and son suffering from malaria and hospitalized at the “Mtendere Mission” Hospital.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Child suffering from malaria, hospitalized at the Mtendere Mission Hospital.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. An entire family around the bed of a child suffering from malaria. Climate change can lead to a new expansion of malaria. Alteration of temperatures and rainfalls may contribute to the presence of malaria in previously safer areas.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Mothers awaiting news of their children presumably affected by malaria.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. A house with a mural describing how to protect oneself from malaria in the city of Chirundu.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Girl in a village in the Chirundu district.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. A village in the Chirundu distric Africa represents the epicenter of the disease where 98% of the 228 million annual cases occur, estimated on the basis of data collected in 2018. Thanks to the efforts made to eradicate malaria globally, the areas where the disease can thrive have declined significantly, but the impact of climate change may alter again the ecosystems and the geography of its transmission.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Clothes washing in the city of Chirundu. Malaria is very reactive to climate change as vectors that spreads malaria and the parasite that causes it are responsive to climate variables, especially to rainfalls and temperature alterations.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Kids at play in the city of Chirundu.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Just out of a school in a village in the District of Chirundu. Thousands of infants and children in rural Zambia suffer or die from malaria every year because they cannot access to high-quality medicines and proper medical care.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Mother and daughter at a village near Chirundu city. In Zambia, the reactivity of vector- borne disease to climate changes like malaria causes considerable concern. Climate change makes rains shift from their ordinary regions to new areas, leading to the widening of this disease.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Child with his doll in the suburbs of Chirundu.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Amek, 10 years old, a malaria patient, lying on a bed in his hut at a village in the Chirundu district. Malaria is the main cause of mortality in Zambia, with nearly 4.3 million cases and 50 thousand deaths every year.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Playtime in the school of Chirundu. Malaria is the biggest threat to children in Zambia.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Playtime in a school in the District of Chirundu. Zambia is a land-locked country with approximately 13.6 million inhabitants, 61% of which live in rural regions and 39% in urban areas. Malaria is endemic throughout the whole country though it is more prevalent in its rural areas.
  • Chirundu, Zambia 2011. Children playing skipping rope, in a village in the Chirundu district. Malaria is a major public health problem in Zambia with around 4 million cases and approximately 50.000 deaths reported every year.

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