Free The Disease That Affected These People Case Study Example

Summary of Issues Surrounding the Disease Outbreak

Twenty Seven people living in a Canyon near El Captain Reservoir were diagnosed with peripheral blood infection. Majority of this people slept in open places or poorly sheltered structures. Additionally they lived in close proximity to open source of water and were given chloroquine prescription for their treatment.

The migrant workers were infected with malaria. This is because they were given chloroquine prescription for their treatment. Chloroquine is an oral prescription given to patients suffering from malaria infection. They also live next to open water sources and were diagnosed with peripheral blood infection. It is also indicated that they had poor shelters and slept in the open. Consequently, they had not undergone blood transfusion or IV drug use in the last three years. This means that the only way they could get infected with malaria is by being exposed to bites from infected anopheles mosquitoes. Anopheles mosquitoes inhabit dump places or open water sources as their breeding grounds.

How they acquired the Disease

The migrant workers sleep in open shelters next to open water sources. This exposed them to bites from infected anopheles mosquitoes that transmit small particles of malaria from an infected person. The malaria parasite is a protozoan known as Plasmodium. It travels to the liver where it reproduces and travels to the blood stream where it infects the red blood cells (www.webmd.boots.com).

Genus Name of the Vector Responsible for transmitting Malaria

Infected mosquito is the vector that transmits malaria. The parasite is scientifically known as the Plasmodium (www.cdc.gov). However, the genus name for the mosquito responsible for transmitting this parasite is known as Anopheles (www.webmd.boots.com).

Actions that could be Taken to Prevent the Outbreak of the Disease

There are various actions that could have been implemented to prevent the outbreak of malaria among the migrant workers. The first action is to drain all stagnant water within their surroundings. Anopheles mosquitoes inhabit stagnant water and dump places where they lay eggs (www.cdc.gov). Draining such water bars them from reproducing. Additionally, the migrant workers could sleep under treated mosquito nets. Treated mosquito nets act as physical barriers that hinder mosquitoes from having access to their targets (www.cdc.gov). The chemical used to treat these nets is also important. It kills infected anopheles mosquitoes that come into contact with them. The workers could have prevented the outbreak by avoiding close proximity to stagnant waters.

Reasons why Proximity to Water is Significant to the Transmission of the Disease

Stagnant water acts as a significant breeding ground for female anopheles mosquitoes (Slater, 9). Since they feed on human blood, they tend to bite people living in close proximity to stagnant water sources. On the other hand, when their eggs hatch, it more mosquitoes are reproduced. This leads to an increase in the number of mosquitoes in need of human blood, thus increased rate of malaria outbreak.

Work Cited

"Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 Feb. 2015. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/faqs.html>.
Slater, Leo Barney. War and Disease Biomedical Research on Malaria in the Twentieth Century. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers UP, 2009. Print.
"Travel Health Centre." Malaria Causes, Symptoms, Transmission, Treatments and More. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.webmd.boots.com/travel/malaria>.