Prevention

Prevention It is possible to break the transmission cycle by killing the insect vector. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in water. Larvae hatch and develop in water but breathe air by moving to the surface. Oil can be sprayed over the water surface, to make it impossible for mosquito larvae and pupae to breathe. Ponds, drainage ditches and other permanent bodies of water can be stocked with fishes such as Gambusia which feed on mosquito larvae. Preparations containing Bacillus thuringiensis can be sprayed to kill the mosquito larvae since it is not toxic to other forms of life. The best protection against malaria is to avoid being bitten by mosquito. People are advised to use mosquito nets, wire gauging of windows and doors to prevent mosquito bites. In the ’s the World Health Organisation (WHO) introduced the Malaria eradication programme. This programme was not successful due to the resistance of Plasmodium to the drugs used to treat it and resistance of mosquitoes to DDT and other insecticides. Malaria vaccine is used to prevent malaria. The only approved vaccine as of is RTS,S (Mosquirix). It requires four injections and has relatively low efficacy ( – %). Due to this low efficacy, WHO does not recommend the use of RTS,S vaccine in babies between and weeks of age.