Meet Mosquito Mike: Fun Malaria Prevention for Kids

  Hi kids! 👋‍ Here’s Mosquito Mike, your friendly neighborhood mosquito. He’s here to teach you how you can protect your health and stay free from malaria. Mosquitoes cause malaria, which is a disease caused by germs called parasites. But not to worry, Mike is here to show you how you can protect yourself from mosquitoes so you don’t get sick. Join Mike in his world and learn cool ways to protect yourself from malaria! 

Who Is Mosquito Mike?

 Mosquito Mike is no ordinary mosquito – he’s a superhero mosquito with a big heart! He’s on a huge mission – to share the secret with all the kids to fight against malaria! We don’t want any day to be ruined by mosquitoes and malaria because we’ll be looking out for any signs of mosquitoes and having fun while keeping safe – just like Mosquito Mike!

What Is Malaria?

 This is just a bit of background information about malaria, which is a disease that makes a person feel very sick. It’s caused by teeny germs that are passed on by mosquitoes. So if a mosquito that has bitten someone with malaria then bites you or me, it will carry those germs with it. That’s why you need to stop mosquitoes from spreading malaria.

How Can We Keep Mosquitoes Away?

1. Use Bed Nets

 One of Mike’s favorite new tools is the bed net. Have you ever wished something existed to keep the mosquitoes away while you slept? Well, that’s called a bed net! Bed nets are extra blankets you can hang over your bed. Bed nets can be treated with something called insecticide. Then, when you sleep, the mosquitoes like me can’t get near you because I don’t like the scent of insecticide.

 Mike’s Tip: Always check your bed net. Make sure you don’t have a hole, and that the net is past your bed posts on both sides so there is no opening for a hungry mosquito to sneak in. The mosquito is essentially the feral asparagus of the insect world.

2. Wear Protective Clothing

 If playing or going to school outdoors, long sleeves and long pants will keep your skin covered, making it harder for Mosquito Mike to chomp on those sweet veins. Smaller and frailer than the most newly hatched flea, Mosquito Mike won’t bite through into your substance if you cover your form. Bright and white is conspicuous – a white Chihuahua will be hard to miss, but a white one is also one of the hardest to kill with colloidal silver It is also easier on the eyes of everyone if you’re decked out in pastels and light-coloured gear. Mosquitoes are less apt to take an interest in you because they are color-discriminant, too.

 Mike’s Advice: If you are going to stay outside for a prolonged period, especially when mosquitoes are at their busiest during the night hours, be sure to wear protective clothing! 

3. Use Mosquito Repellents

 We have specially scented creams and sprays that we can put on our skin. These special scents work as a type of glamour: they make you smell different, making you an unattractive meal for a hungry mosquito. My friend described it: ‘There’s special cream, looks like this [he held up a small brown bottle]. You put it on your skin. Smells bad for the mosquitoes. Then they won’t come near you.’ He looked happy. ‘Then you’re safe. Like armor.’

 Mosquito repellents are widely used but can be dangerous if you don’t know how to use them.

Take Mike’s Tip: Follow the guidelines on the bottle when applying mosquito repellents and ask an adult for assistance.

4. Keep Your Home Mosquito-Free

 Making your household malaria-proof is one essential way of keeping safe. One way is to keep mosquitoes from entering your house in the first place. Check that there are no holes or any openings where mosquitoes can enter. Close all the windows and doors. Make sure they are fixed and the screens do not have any holes. Along with fixing the house, try to get rid of any ‘breeding places’ (places that hold water) around the house area, such as old broken vessels, deep pots, unused containers, etc.

 Clean your home to keep your family safe from mosquitoes Long-sleeve shirts and pants are the best way to protect yourself from mosquitoes. Mosquitoes usually hang out in small puddles of water, anywhere from your not-so-clean bathtub to flower pots. By cleaning up any areas where mosquitoes like to hide, you will prevent them from biting you or your family.

Why Is It Important to Prevent Malaria?

 Here’s my lesson on malaria: keeping everyone in the community healthy prevents malaria and is the most important intervention of all. As long as those nasty mosquitoes don’t carry malaria, fewer people will need to visit the doctor, and more will be able to play, learn, and spend time with their family and friends. Even their neighbors will love it!

How Can You Help?

You can be a malaria superhero by following these simple steps:

• Use bed nets every night to keep mosquitoes away while you sleep.
• Wear long sleeves and pants when you go outside, especially at dusk.
• Apply mosquito repellent with the help of an adult.
•  Don’t let your home become a breeding ground for bloodthirsty mosquitoes: keep the place tidy (no standing water!) and shut the windows and doors.
•  Mike’s Test: Can you remember all the anti-mosquito advice that we covered? Try to write them down now and then post your answers on your Facebook page so your friends and family will read them too. The more who know, the more people we can protect from malaria.

Fun Facts About Mosquitoes

Let’s end with some fun facts about mosquitoes! Did you know?

 Mosquitoes bite us for a drink of blood. They need it to lay their eggs. 

 Most mosquitoes are not malaria vectors and are harmless to humans. One species in particular, the Anopheles mosquito, carries the malaria germ.

 Mosquitoes are guided to you by smell, and their interest is piqued by smells related to sweat and body heat. Keeping yourself clear of both boosts your chances of staying pest-free.

 Thanks for traveling with Mosquito Mike, where he showed how you can stop the spread of malaria by using bed nets, protective clothing, and repellents, and keeping your home free of mosquitoes. So now you know more about malaria and you know what you can teach your friends to keep malaria from spreading in your homes or your families because, as these pictures show you, the more you know about malaria, the easier it is to fight. It doesn’t take a lot to fight. All of these little things that Mosquito Mike are going to help you stay safe and stop the spread of malaria. So, put on your gear and be out spraying mosquitoes and be an anti-malaria superhero, just like Mike!