Malaria

 What is Malaria? What causes Malaria?

Malaria is a mosquito-borne contagious disease of humans and other animals caused by parasitic protozoans (a group of single-celled microorganism) belonging to the genus Plasmodium. Malaria causes symptoms that normally include fever, fatigue, vomiting and headaches. In severe cases it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma or death. The disease is transmitted by the biting of mosquitoes, and the symptoms generally begin ten to fifteen days after being bitten. In those who have not been appropriately treated disease may reoccur months later. In those who have recently survived an infection, re-infection typically causes milder symptoms. This partial resistance disappears over months to years if there is no ongoing exposure to malaria.

 How Malaria is Transmitted?

The disease is transmitted most commonly by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The mosquito bite introduces the parasites from the mosquito's saliva into a person's blood. The parasites then travel to the liver where they mature and reproduce. Five species of Plasmodium can infect and be spread by humans. Most deaths are caused by P. falciparum because P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae generally cause a milder form of malaria. The species P. knowlesi rarely causes disease in humans. Malaria is typically diagnosed by the microscopic examination of blood using blood films, or with antigen-based rapid diagnostic tests. Methods that use the polymerase chain reaction to detect the parasite's DNA have been developed, but are not widely used in areas where malaria is common due to their cost and complexity.

What is Malaria?- Video

How it can be reduced?

The risk of disease can be reduced by preventing mosquito bites by using mosquito nets and insect repellents, or with mosquito-control measures such as spraying insecticides and draining standing water. Several medications are available to prevent malaria in travelers to areas where the disease is common. Occasional doses of the medication sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine are recommended in infants and after the first trimester of pregnancy in areas with high rates of malaria. Despite a need, no effective vaccine exists, although efforts to develop one are ongoing. The recommended treatment for malaria is a combination of antimalarial medications that includes an artemisinin. The second medication may be mefloquine, lumefantrine, or sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine. Quinine along with doxycycline may be used if an artemisinin is not available. 

It is recommended that in areas where the disease is common, malaria is confirmed if possible before treatment is started due to concerns of increasing drug resistance. Resistance has developed to several antimalarial medications; for example, chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum has spread to most malarial areas, and resistance to artemisinin has become a problem in some parts of Southeast Asia.

Where is it Prevalent?

The disease is prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions that are present in a broad band around the equator. This includes much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Malaria is frequently associated with poverty and has a major negative effect on economic development. In Africa it is estimated to result in losses of $12 billion USD a year due to increased healthcare costs, lost ability to work and effects on tourism. The World Health Organization reports there were 198 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2013. This resulted in an estimated 584,000 to 855,000 deaths, the majority (90%) of which occurred in Africa.

Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells.

Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs. In many parts of the world, the parasites have developed resistance to a number of malaria medicines.

Key interventions to control malaria include: prompt and effective treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapies; use of insecticidal nets by people at risk; and indoor residual spraying with insecticide to control the vector mosquitoes.

Malaria is a serious disease that causes a high fever and chills. You can get it from a bite by an infected mosquito. Malaria is rare in the United States. It is most often found in Africa, Southern Asia, Central America, and South America.

Malaria is caused by a bite from a mosquito infected with parasites. In very rare cases, people can get malaria if they come into contact with infected blood. A developing fetus may get the disease from its mother. You cannot get malaria just by being near a person who has the disease.

Most malaria infections cause symptoms like the flu, such as a high fever, chills, and muscle pain. Symptoms tend to come and go in cycles. Some types of malaria may cause more serious problems, such as damage to the heart, lungs, kidneys, or brain. These types can be deadly.

Your doctor will order a blood test to check for the malaria parasite in your blood.

Medicines usually can treat the illness. But some malaria parasites may survive because they are in your liver or they are resistant to the medicine.

Get medical help right away if you have been in an area where malaria is present, were exposed to mosquitoes, and get symptoms that are like the flu. These include a high fever, chills, and muscle pain.

You may be able to prevent malaria by taking medicine before, during, and after travel to an area where malaria is present. But using medicine to prevent malaria doesn't always work. This is partly due to the parasites being resistant to some medicines in some parts of the world.