Archive for category Malaria No More

Mosquito Squad Joins Malaria No More to Draw Attention to Malaria Epidemic Through World Malaria Day on April 25, 2012

Dread Skeeter from Mosquito Squad helping Malaria No More

Dread Skeeter from Mosquito Squad helping Malaria No More

Tomorrow is the fifth annual World Malaria Day and this year’s theme is simple: “Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria.” To help do our part, Mosquito Squad continues to support Malaria No More in its goal of reaching near zero deaths in Africa by 2015. In fact, we recently committed more than $50,000 to help fight this treatable and preventable disease. If you want to help us in our fight against malaria, donate at SwatMalaria.net on World Malaria Day!

Established by the World Health Assembly, World Malaria Day was started in 2007 to provide “education and understanding of malaria.” Its first theme was “Malaria – a disease without borders.” Although malaria is heavily concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, it, at times, reached epidemic levels in many parts of the world, including Europe and North America.

In honor of World Malaria Day, here are some facts about the disease that you may not know:

  • The world malaria comes from the Italian words for “bad air” because the disease was first thought to be a result of bad swamp air.
  • It is the world’s deadliest disease, killing over 650,000 people a year, most of which are children
  • Some Egyptian mummies show signs of malaria
  • Aristotle, Homer and Hippocrates all described the symptoms of malaria in their works
  • Shakespeare alludes to malaria in eight of his plays
  • In Europe, it spread as far north as Russia
  • The Incas were the first to find relief from malaria using bark from the cinchona tree
  • George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant all suffered from the disease
  • British physician Ronald Ross was the first to discover that malaria was carried by the mosquito in 1897
  • The US Center for Disease control was initially set up with the mission to control the spread of malaria
  • Malaria was eradicated in the US in the 1950s
  • Malaria mosquitoes need to drink blood every three days
  • Symptoms of the disease usually appear 10-15 days after a person is infected

World Malaria Day is a day to spread awareness of the disease as well as a day to take action. A donation of just $10 to Malaria No More can help protect a mother and three small children against this terrible illness. To give now, visit SwatMalaria.net.

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Helping Minimize Malaria Deaths in Africa – You can help

Dread Skeeter from Mosquito Squad helping Malaria No More

Dread Skeeter from Mosquito Squad helping Malaria No More

A few years ago, Mosquito Squad joined Malaria No More in its goal toward near zero malaria deaths in in Africa by 2015 and we are happy to continue our support.

Malaria is rampant in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, killing a child nearly every minute, yet it is both preventable and treatable. Malaria No More helps fight the growth of malaria by helping to provide protective bed nets at $10 apiece.

At Mosquito Squad, we have committed more than $50,000 to the effort and encourage our nearly 100 franchisees to provide information and ways to donate to their customers. “We are so fortunate that parents in our country don’t worry about the possibility of their children contracting malaria,” says Scott Zide, president of Outdoor Living Brands, Mosquito Squad’s parent company. “We can’t think of a better organization that fits with our values and our corporate goals of making our world a better, safer place to live, not only in backyards across America but in the villages of Africa as well.”

Take a look at the video below and donate to Malaria No More at SwatMalaria.net.

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Bill Gates Donates $750 Million to Help Fight Malaria

Last week, Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates pledged $750 million (yes, you heard that correctly, $750 million) to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The fund had to cancel over $1 billion of spending last year that would have gone to expanding programs fighting the diseases. Gates explained “These are tough economic times, but that is no excuse for cutting aid to the world’s poorest” – source.

The Global Fund was created in 2002 “to dramatically increase resources to fight three of the world’s most devastating diseases, and to direct those resources to areas of greatest need,” source. In the case of malaria, the Global Fund has helped to provide over 230 million mosquito nets to protect against infection. 230 million malaria drug treatments have also been send to Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia where the spread of malaria is most prevalent.

Dread Skeeter from Mosquito Squad helping Malaria No More

Dread Skeeter from Mosquito Squad helping Malaria No More

We’re happy to see that a big name like Bill Gates is bringing more attention to something that is dear to our heart: fighting malaria. What a lot of people don’t know is that malaria was common in the United States until the 1940s when National Malaria Eradication Program addressed the growing problem. The program included “drainage, removal of mosquito breeding sites and spraying of insecticides.” – source.

Malaria is both preventable and treatable, yet it still takes a life every minute. Every minute! To do our part, Mosquito Squad has partnered with Malaria No More in their quest to end malaria deaths by 2015. If you are interested in donating, please visit SwatMalaria.net.

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Reports show a malaria vaccine is currently in the works to wipe out this killer forever and offer hope to millions.

malaria_parasites and red blood cells

Malaria parasites and red blood cells

Malaria is a disease that most widely affects residents of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Approximately 1,500 cases of Malaria are diagnosed each year here in the US, most of which are among those who travel to these locations or those returning from countries where Malaria transmission occurs. In most cases those travelers return home unaware that they are harboring Malaria until the symptoms start to appear.

Malaria is spread through the bite of a mosquito that is carrying  the parasite Plasmodium falciparum which causes. Up until recently, efforts to develop a vaccine against Malaria have been fruitless due to the inability to prevent the parasite from entering the red blood cells. Findings recently published in Nature reveal that a single receptor that allows for the parasite to enter and infect the human body has now been identified. These findings could put an end to Malaria pills, insect repellents and bed nets for residents of Malaria ridden areas for good.

Zambia4.large insecticde treated bed nets arrive to much anticipation in Zambia

Insecticide treated bed nets arrive to much anticipation in Zambia to aid in the fight against Malaria

The vaccine singles out the receptor that is responsible for the Malaria parasites to invade the human body. The vaccine will change entire cultures and ways of life in areas where Malaria is responsible for millions of deaths. These areas include sub-Saharan Africa where in 2008 and estimated 83,000 people, most of which were young children, died from the disease.

Mosquito Squad is a proud supporter of Malaria no More which promotes expanded knowledge and prevention of the disease through education and access to tools needed to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria.  Mosquito Squad is also excited about the anticipated development of this malaria vaccine that is scheduled to be ready in approximately two years.

Dread Skeeter from Mosquito Squad helping Malaria No More

Dread Skeeter from Mosquito Squad helping Malaria No More

Contact Mosquito Squad to learn more about the Malaria No More program we support and to find out about safe and effective mosquito and tick control in your environment as well. To find a Mosquito Squad location close to home visit our locations list located on our website.

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Malaria part of the Millenium Development Goals for the U.N.

It continues to amaze me how often the saying “starving children in Africa” comes up in my household. Not only did my parents talk about it but I have obviously said this many times to my children. And never is this used more than in a period of gluttony such as Thanksgiving. I know gluttony is a strong word but in all reality, it is a day that we Americans have a name for the effect of overstuffing ourselves with food. And further, this season of over-indulging will last for at least another month.

“Why don’t you give that to the starving children in Africa”

The children in Africa are dying of much more than hunger. They’re dropping in droves from Malaria. Malaria kills one child every 45 seconds in Africa. But, in order to fight any problem of this scope, there needs to be massive, concerted efforts to end the dying. The U.N has established Millenium Development Goals for the international organization. One of these 8 goals is to to combat Malaria and other raging diseases including HIV/AIDS.

So we have the infrastructure, now what?

Mosquito Squad has teamed up with Malaria No More to help save lives in Africa. Although this is a huge problem, this is a disease we can eradicate. The United States was able to successfully eradicate the disease in 1951. It can be done.

Nothing but nets – and you can make a slam dunk.

One of the best ways to treat Malaria is to prevent Malaria in Africa. Disease-carrying mosquitoes bit mostly from dusk until dawn while children and adults sleep. For just $10, you can buy a mosquito net to cover a bed and keep mosquitoes from biting and spreading the disease.

To donate, text SWAT to 85944 or visit our website and make a larger donation.

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