TR IB U TI O N t a T u Fights Malaria SA M PL E O N LY :N O T FO R D IS with Dispersible Artemether/Lumefantrine (AL) 2 SA M PL E O N LY :N O T FO R D IS TR IB U TI O N Tatu loves playing with her brother Juma every day when they come home from school. One night, when Tatu is sleeping, she is bitten by a sneaky mosquito because her foot is outside of the bed net. She does not know it, but the mosquito has infected her with small malaria parasites! M PL E O N LY :N O T FO R D IS TR IB U TI O N 3 SA The mosquitoes that carry malaria breed in standing water like puddles, and after the rains there are many mosquitoes that can transmit malaria.1 4 IS N LY :N O T FO R D Oh Tatu, I think you may have malaria. You must have been bitten by a mosquito. We must take you to the clinic straight away. TR IB U TI O N A week later, Tatu wakes up in the morning feeling unwell. Mama is worried. M PL E O Tatu does not want to go to school because her head hurts, she feels very cold, and does not want to eat. Mama checks for a fever and Tatu feels very hot. SA Malaria is a serious disease caused by parasites called Plasmodia. Plasmodium falciparum causes the most dangerous kind of malaria and is common in many parts of Africa.1 The first signs of malaria are usually feeling sick with fever, headache, and chills.1 N 5 TI O Mama knows that if Tatu does not get the right medicine soon, she will get worse. M PL E O N LY :N O T FO R D IS TR IB U The nurse will help to make Tatu better. SA If a child with malaria does not get the right medicine within 24 hours, they can become very sick and even die.1 TI O The nurse at the clinic thinks that Tatu has malaria, but she decides to test her blood to be sure. The test shows the nurse that Tatu does have malaria. N 6 M PL E O N LY :N O T FO R D IS TR IB U When the mosquito bit Tatu, it passed on some malaria parasites into her blood that made her sick. There are many mosquitoes now that we are in the rainy season. SA It is important to test a patient’s blood to make sure that they have malaria.2 It is important to do this before they are given malaria treatment.1 Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the recommended treatment for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria.1 7 TI O N The nurse finds out how heavy Tatu is to give her the correct amount of medicine for her weight. FO R D IS TR IB U Tatu weighs 17 kg, so I will give Tatu 2 dispersible AL right away to make her feel better. M PL E O N LY :N O T When I was small, I had malaria, and the medicine made me well again. SA Artemether-Lumefantrine (AL) was the first ACT approved by the World Health Organization for the treatment of malaria.3 8 O N LY :N O T FO R D IS TR IB U TI O N These are similar to the AL tablets that Juma took, but sweet tasting and especially made for smaller children. M PL E The nurse shows Mama some dispersible AL for Tatu to take. SA Tatu will need to take the 2 dispersible AL 2 times a day for 3 days. 9 M PL E O N LY :N O T FO R D IS TR IB U TI O N Tatu does not want to take the medicine, but the nurse says she must take it to get well. The nurse puts 2 dispersible AL in water and Tatu is surprised to see it turn yellow. Tatu is more surprised because it tastes sweet, and she drinks it all. Give Tatu 2 more dispersible AL before she goes to bed. Tomorrow and the next day, give Tatu 2 more in the morning and in the evening. I know Tatu does not feel hungry, but try and give her some food when she takes her medicine – it will help the medicine to work better. SA Dispersible AL was especially made for children and becomes a sweet-tasting yellow liquid when combined with a small amount of water. 10 :N O T FO R D IS TR IB U TI O N That night, Mama makes sure that Tatu takes 2 more dispersible AL as the nurse said. Tatu watches Mama pop the 2 dispersible AL directly into the water – it goes yellow. M PL E O N LY Oh yes, I took AL tablets for 3 days, but they did not go in water or taste sweet! SA The medicine works better if you eat some food or drink some milk at the same time.2 11 TI O N Later, Esther comes to visit – she is the Community Health Worker in the village. And every night when Tatu is sleeping, make sure that she is fully covered by a bed net. M PL E O N LY :N O T FO R D IS TR IB U The medicine kills the parasites, but Tatu must finish all of the dispersible AL over 3 days to make sure that there are no parasites left. If Tatu does not finish all of the medicine, the parasites will come back and Does Tatu need to she will be sick again... finish the medicine? She is feeling better already. SA The mosquitoes that transmit malaria bite people mostly at night.1 If you sleep under a bed net at night, it will help protect you from mosquitoes and prevent malaria.1 12 IS TR IB U TI O N The next day Tatu is feeling well, but Mama still gives her the last two dispersible AL. :N O T FO R D This is good medicine. It works well, like the medicine I took when I had malaria. M PL E O N LY Tatu is happy she can go to school today. She will be ready to play with Juma and their friends again when she comes home. SA Each dose of dispersible AL kills many malaria parasites. You must take the dispersible AL two times a day for 3 days2 and finish the full pack to kill all of the malaria parasites.2 Please take malaria treatment as directed by your doctor, nurse or community health worker. If you still feel sick after completing your treatment course, or if you feel worse at any point, please go back to see the health worker. TR IB U Choose someone to tell the story. TI O Children can act out the story of how Tatu fights malaria with dispersible AL. N 13 Juma Tatu O T FO R D IS The others can pretend to be Mama, Tatu, Juma, the Nurse and Esther N LY :N Mama PL E O Nurse SA M Is there anyone who would like to be the mosquito? Esther 14 PL M 1. E O N LY :N O T FO R D IS TR IB U TI O N Try to spot the 7 differences between these two pictures. SA Answers on page 18. 15 PL SA M 2. E O N LY :N O T FO R D IS TR IB U TI O N Which children are more at risk from malaria and why? 16 TI O N Quiz TR IB IS 3. What colour does the water go when I drop dispersible AL in it? FO R D 2. Why was it important to take Tatu to the clinic straight away? U 1. Why did I think that Tatu had malaria? :N O T 4. How does dispersible AL taste? M PL E O N LY 5. How many times a day and for how many days did I need to take the dispersible AL? SA Answers on page 19. TI O FO R D 8. Why is Tatu eating some food when she takes the dispersible AL? IS TR IB U 6. Why did I test Tatu’s blood? 7. How did the dispersible AL make Tatu better? N 17 10. Where do mosquitoes breed? 11. When do mosquitoes mostly bite people? SA M PL E O N LY :N O T 9. What might happen if Tatu did not take all of the dispersible AL? 12. How can you stop mosquitoes from biting you while you are sleeping? 18 N Answers to Spot the Difference TI O • Puddles of water • Pail of water U • Cooking pots and pans on the left hand side TR IB • Lid on drum • Tyres • Basin on the right hand side IS • Child sleeping under a bed net SA M PL E O N LY :N O T FO R D The children in picture 1 are more at risk from malaria than the children in picture 2. Mosquitoes carry the parasites which cause malaria.1 They breed in water that gathers in containers or puddles.1 People can get malaria if they are bitten by a mosquito.1 A bed net protects people from being bitten at night.1 19 N Quiz Answers TI O 1. Because she felt hot, she had a headache, she was tired and she did not want to eat anything. U 2. Because if Tatu did not get the right malaria medicine quickly, she could become more sick and she could even die! TR IB 3.Yellow. 4. It tastes sweet. IS 5. 2 times a day for 3 days. 6. To be sure that she had malaria before giving her the dispersible AL. FO R D 7. The dispersible AL killed the malaria parasites in Tatu’s blood, which were making her sick. 8. It helps the dispersible AL work better. 9. The malaria might come back and Tatu would be sick again. T 10.In standing water. O 11.At night. M PL E O N LY :N 12.Sleep completely under a bed net every night. Remove standing water like puddles from around the house. SA References 1. WHO Malaria Fact Sheet No.94 Reviewed March 2013 2. WHO Guidelines for the Treatment of Malaria: Second Edition (2010) 3. WHO List of Prequalified Medicinal Products. Available at: http://apps.who.int/prequal/ For further information: www.malaria.novartis.com ©Novartis Pharma AG 2013 12/13 NP4 Nr. 197167 NOV3278/V1/DEC2013 TI O N SA M PL E O N LY :N O T FO R D IS TR IB U Novartis Pharma AG Basel, Switzerland
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