When most people think of murderers, they probably pictures guns, knives, or men in ski masks. But the number one leading cause of death worldwide is not a weapon at all, but a seemingly harmless mosquito.
According to this medical report article, mosquito-transmitted malaria will affect adults and especially children in “about 100 countries” (Davis, par. 7). If you stop and think about it, that’s about forty percent of the world. Many of the people who are infected with this disease will not receive adequate treatment, and untreated malaria is fatal the majority of the time.
Imagine if the United States was affected by malaria. Would greater steps be taken to prevent its spread? Unfortunately, the disease affects mostly third-world countries in Africa, Asia, and South America where economies, healthcare systems, and sanitation are poor. The average family sleeps where they are unprotected from preying mosquitos, and are denied proper vaccinations due to lack of money.
Luckily, there are things we can do to help from here in the US. There are programs such as Unicef and Nothing But Nets, a nonprofit organization that not only raises awareness about the disease, but also sends mosquito netting to homes in malaria-prone countries. Just because we may be safe from this disease where you live doesn’t mean we should ignore it. Malaria kills an innocent child every thirty seconds. Learn more and get involved, so that this killer can finally be stopped.
Davis, Charles. "Malaria." Medicinenet.com. Medicine Net, 8 Oct. 2010. Web. 17 Feb 2011.
<http://www.medicinenet.com/malaria/article.htm>.
"Malaria." www.Unicef.org. Unicef, 29 September 2009. Web. 17 Feb 2011. <http://www.unicef.org/health/index_malaria.html>.
"Malaria Kills." Nothingbutnets.com. Nothing but Nets, n. d.. Web. 17 Feb 2011. <http://www.nothingbutnets.net/malaria-kills/>.
