An Infectious Disease: Malaria

  

Malaria fever is an infectious disease which is usually caused by a parasite. Through the bites of an infected mosquito, parasites spread to humans. People who are affected with malaria can feel very sick with high fever and shivering chills.

If the malaria is not treated immediately, malaria fever will cause severe health problems like seizures, brain damage, trouble breathing, organ failure and death.

World health programs will distribute the preventive drugs and insecticide-treated bed nets to protect from mosquito bites to reduce malaria fever. The World Health Organization suggests a malaria vaccine for children who live in places with high numbers of malaria fever cases.

You should carry Protective clothing, bed nets and insecticides with you to protect you while travelling. If you go on a trip to a high risk area, you can take preventive medicines before, after and during the trip. Some malaria parasites developed with resistance to common drugs which are used to treat the disease.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of malaria may include:

• Fever

• Chills

• General feeling of discomfort

• Headache

• Nausea and vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Abdominal pain

• Muscle or joint pain

• Fatigue

• Rapid breathing

• Rapid heart rate

• Cough

 

People who are experiencing malaria will have cycles of malaria attacks. Usually the attack starts with shivering chills, high fever with sweating and gradually returns to normal temperature.

Usually the signs and symptoms of malaria begin within a few weeks after the bite of the mosquito. Some types of malaria parasites will be present in your body for a year.

Causes

Malaria fever is usually caused by a single celled parasite called genus plasmodium. The parasite of this infection usually transmits to humans through mosquito bites.

Mosquito transmission cycle

• Uninfected mosquito. Mosquitoes will be infected by feeding from a person who has malaria.

• Transmission of parasites. That infected mosquito bites you in the future, it transmits the malaria parasites to you.

• In the liver. If the parasites enter your body, the parasites directly travel to your liver where they usually present for as long as a year.

• Into the bloodstream. When the parasites present in your body matures, they leave the liver and start infecting your red blood cells. Because of this, people usually develop symptoms of malaria.

• On to the next person.at the point of this cycle,an uninfected mosquito bites you, it will automatically be infected by your malaria parasites and it can spread to other people.

Other modes of transmission

Malaria Parasites affect red blood cells, people will catch malaria from exposure of infected blood, include:

• From mother to unborn child

• Through blood transfusions

• By sharing needles used to inject drugs

Risk factors

The highest risk factor of developing malaria is where you live in or you visit areas where the disease is more common. Some tropical and subtropical regions of 

• Sub-Saharan Africa

• South and Southeast Asia

• Pacific Islands

• Central America and northern South America

The range of risk will usually depend on seasonal changes in malaria rates and precautions you take for preventing you from mosquito bites and also on local malaria controls.

Risks of more-severe disease

People who are at high risk of serious disease include:

• Young children and infants

• Older adults

• Travellers coming from areas with no malaria

• Pregnant women and their unborn children

Most of the countries with high malaria rates, problems are worsened by lack of access to preventive measures and medical treatment and information of awareness.

Diagnosis

Your healthcare professional can diagnose malaria. During the consultation, your doctor will review your medical history and also your recent travel to tropical climates. And followed by a physical exam also performed.

Your doctor can determine whether you have an enlarged spleen or liver. If you face any symptoms of malaria, your healthcare professional suggests you some additional blood test to confirm the diagnosis.

Additional tests will show:

• whether you have malaria or not

• what type of malaria you experience

• certain types of drugs are resistant to your infection which is caused by a parasite

• if the malaria disease has caused anemia

• if the malaria disease has affected your vital organs

How is malaria treated?

It is most important to take prompt treatment for malaria fever. Your healthcare provider will prescribe some medicines to kill the malaria parasite. Some of the parasites are resistant to malaria fever drugs.

Some of the drugs are given to you with a combination of other drugs. What type of medication you take  and how long you take is based on the type of parasite you infected.

Antimalarial drugs include:

• Artemisinin drugs (artemether and artesunate).  artemisinin combination therapy is the best treatment for Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

• Atovaquone (Mepron®).

• Chloroquine.usually parasites that are resistant to this type of drug.

• Doxycycline (Doxy-100®, Monodox®, Oracea®).

• Mefloquine.

• Quinine.

• Primaquine.

Medication will help you recover from malaria.

Prevention

If you become infected, there are some medications that will help you to prevent illness but none of these medications is 100% effective.

It is very crucial to prevent malaria. Anopheles mosquitoes usually bite between the dusk and dawn time and they also like to live inside the house.

Few Ways of preventing bites from Anopheles mosquitoes include:

• You must avoid outdoor time between dusk and dawn

• You should wear clothing that fully covered your skin

• Always wear insect repellent on your skin that contains DEET

• Try to sleep under a bed  with mosquito net treated with an insecticide (such as permethrin)

• Always wear clothing treated with permethrin or spray clothing with permethrin spray (available at outdoor supply stores)

• You must ensure that you stay in well-screened or air-conditioned rooms

The above measures help you to prevent other illnesses spread by mosquitoes, ticks, and sand flies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. How is malaria detected?

Ans: Malaria parasites can be identified by examining under the microscope a drop of the patient's blood, spread out as a “blood smear” on a microscope slide. 

Q2. Can malaria go away without treatment?

Ans: No, not necessarily. Malaria can be treated. If the right drugs are used, people who have malaria can be cured and all the malaria parasites can be cleared from their body. 

Q3. What should we eat in malaria?

Ans: Fresh fruits and vegetables work wonders for malaria patients. According to studies, vitamin A and vitamin C rich fruits and vegetables like beetroot, carrot, papaya, sweet lime, grapes, berries, lemon, orange help to detoxify and boost the immunity of the patient suffering from malaria.

Q4. Is there a vaccine for malaria?

Ans: PfSPZ Vaccine is made with a live-attenuated form of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. The vaccine is made by Rockville, Maryland-based Sanaria Inc.

Q5.Where is malaria found?

Ans: The highest transmission is found in Africa South of the Sahara and in parts of Oceania such as Papua New Guinea.