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What is Malaria? |
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Symptoms
Malaria is a highly-contagious disease, carried by a parasite which is harbored by mosquitoes. Malaria cases are very common in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Middles East, and its carriers’ continuing resistance to medication and insecticides make the disease a continuing global health concern. An infection is usually indicated by repeated attacks, with conditions which include flu-like chills that can be mildly or severely convulsive, high fevers, excessive sweating (as the patient’s body temperature drops), and a feeling of anxiety and discomfort. Secondary symptoms involve headaches, queasiness, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Causes
A single-celled parasite known as plasmodium is the carrier for malaria, and about four species can cause the condition in humans: P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae, and P. ovale. The transmitter of the parasite is the female anopheles mosquito; when it feeds on a person who is already infected with malaria, it takes in both sexes (gametocytes) of the parasite, which then unite and mature within the mosquito’s stomach before it ruptures and sends numerous sporozoites to the insect saliva glands. These are then reintroduced on another person’s bloodstream during the next feeding, and move on and develop in the liver. When these mature, the infected liver cells rupture, causing the developed merozoites to leak into the bloodstream and attack the red blood cells. The cycle goes full circle once the merozoites multiply in the red blood cells, ready to be ingested by a mosquito on a consequent feeding. In addition, when infected blood cells rupture, the parasites move on to invade other healthy cells, and every rupture wave causes the flu-like symptoms indicative of the disease. Aside from being transmitted through mosquito bites, malaria can also be contracted in the womb, or through a blood transfusion.
Diagnosis
After the doctor takes note of the patient’s symptoms and any recent travel records, a sample of blood (blood smear) may be taken for examination under a microscope. At least two specimens, obtained with six to twelve-hour intervals, can determine the presence of the disease-carrying parasite, as well as its specie. The blood exam can also detect if the patient is infected by multiple species of the parasite at the same time.
Treatment Info
Malaria is a disease which necessitates immediate diagnosis and treatment, since it can spread so rapidly that the person can suffer the severest forms of the symptom in a matter of days, especially with the P. falciparum parasite. The condition is often treated efficiently with a course of any or several medications, including chloroquine, doxycycline, quinine sulfate, mefloquine, hydroxychloroquine, and a combined medication of sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine, or atovaquone and proguanil. A drug which is derivative of artemisinin is commonly prescribed in most parts of Asia and the subtropics; patients who are not taking mefloquine or those without cardiac problems are also prescribed with halofantarine. The patient’s medication course will depend on which parasite he is carrying, as well as the duration of the infection, his age, and his health condition at the beginning of the treatment.
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