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Mosquitoes and Malaria (October 4, 2002, Two)

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Program Summary

In early October, malaria made the news when two teenagers in Virginia developed the disease. Then, in a surprise momentous announcement, researchers published both the full genome of the mosquito and the parasite responsible for malaria. Is a cure at hand or will this drug-resistant killer continue its deadly course?

Guests

Related Links and Resources

For Discussion:

Every 12 seconds a child dies of malaria. This ancient disease once seemed controllable until the drugs used to fight it stopped working and the hopes for a vaccine were never realized. Today, there are 300 million to 500 million cases of malaria diagnosed each year, with children being especially vulnerable. Worldwide, more children die of malaria each year than from any other single disease. The good news is that the Internet is a-buzz with relevant information that invites your students to learn more. The recent genetic discoveries are a window of opportunity so that they can view the nature of scientific knowledge as it develops in a key content area.

1. Where do mosquito-borne viruses like malaria originate? What are the symptoms and methods of treatment?
2. In what ways are humans involved in the chain of infection?
3. Why is public health awareness as important as medical treatments when it comes to disease control and prevention?
4. Where is the disease most prevalent today and why is it a worldwide concern?
5. Identify the physical as well as cultural influences that affect the prevalence of this disease.

Activities

If your computer has Microsoft video capabilities you can play short videos of mosquito behavior. Log on to Mosquito Movies where the Rutgers University entomologists take you center stage. Hungry for more? Try the Mosquito Biology Page.

Use media of your choice and develop a "how it works" poster or report that explains 1.) The way that the human immune system develops antibodies to protect against viral invaders or 2.) How malaria is spread.

Take a ride on the Cyber School Bus of the United Nations and learn more about “Health at The End of The Millennium.”

Map the geographical spread of malaria on map of the world using color-coding to denote the prevalence of disease from decade to decade. To get started, begin with regional malaria information from Traveler’s Health section of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Explore the prevention and treatment links there. Write a short analysis explaining the geographical factors and conditions that could combine to account for the spread of the disease.

Connect science, public policy, and public health using the printable activity from “The Brain Eater,” a guide produced in connection with a PBS NOVA program (1999). Teams of students investigate causes, communicability, mode of transmission, and individual and social factors influencing spread of diseases including malaria. Each team conducts research and devises public health strategies for control. They present and justify one recommendation to the class that fuels a discussion about effectiveness, implementation, opposition, and the balance between individual rights and public welfare.

The Discovery Channel’s lesson plan on Fighting Invisible Enemies for grades 6-8 takes a look at the human body to explain why some antibiotics stop working and why new drugs are needed to prevent and control diseases like malaria. Use the suggested activities in combination with current news reports to examine why developing a vaccine is in jeopardy given the genetic information we have now about the parasite's powerful ability to dodge our immune system.

Log on to Fighting Malaria: Science Safari, a teaching guide for middle school that was developed for a Scientific American Frontiers program at PBS. Conduct the Floating Nurseries experiment to illustrate that surface tension on water allows mosquito egg rafts to stay afloat and allows mosquitoes to stand on water. Older students might opt for a second activity entitled Real World Connections. It engages them in a fictitious public health campaign that aims to eliminate the dumping grounds for old tires that become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and community hazard.

Investigate how satellites are used for controlling malaria. Check out Malaria Tracking, [Link updated August 5, 2007] a guide from a Newton’s Apple program that aired on PBS. Get in touch with the technology that can help locate disease-carrying mosquitoes, along with discussion questions and resources.

For recent outbreaks of diseases worldwide, go to the World Health Organization’s Disease Outbreak News

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

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