Treatment is one of the major strategies for eliminating malaria. A study in 2020 revealed that half of the world’s population was at risk of malaria, subtropical and tropical countries made up the majority of this data. Infants, pregnant women, children under the age of 5, and patients with weak immunity example patients with HIV/AIDS have a higher risk of contracting and dying from malaria. Travelers and immigrants returning from continents where malaria transmission occurs make up the vast majority of cases in other countries like the United States where malaria transmission doesn’t really occur.
Malaria is a nontransitive disease caused by a parasite. It is an acute febrile flu-like illness caused when certain malaria parasites carried by an infected female Anopheles mosquito feed on human blood. Although Malaria can be sometimes fatal, leading to death, this death can be prevented. So, let’s talk more about Malaria: Symptoms, Prevention, And Treatment
There are four kinds of malaria parasites species that infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae, and 2 of these species – P. falciparum and P. vivax – have been found to pose the greatest threat. Studies have shown P. falciparum to be the deadliest malaria parasite species and most prevalent on the African continent. P. vivax on the other hand is the most dominant malaria parasite in countries outside of sub-Saharan Africa. While the disease is uncommon in temperate climates, malaria is very common in tropical and subtropical African and Asian countries. The world health organization reports that nearly 290 million people are infected with malaria each year, and more than 400,000 people die of the disease.
The first symptoms of people who get malaria are the typical high fevers, headache, shaking chills, and general body weakness 7-10 days after the infective bite from the anopheles mosquitoes. If left untreated malaria can become severe and fatal within 24hrs.
Although malaria is non-transitive, P. knowlesi is a type of malaria that infects macaques in Southeast Asia and causes malaria that is transmitted from animal to human this type of malaria is called “zoonotic” malaria.
Symptoms Of Malaria
Signs and symptoms of malaria can be easily confused with the symptoms of the flu illness. These symptoms are however more severe in malaria and if left untreated can lead to other diseases like anemia, and jaundice (yellow coloring of the skin and eyes) due to the excessive loss of red blood cells. Poorly, wrong or delayed treatment of malarial infection can lead to severe side effects like kidney failure, coma, seizures, brain damage, mental confusion, and death.
Malaria symptoms begin to appear within 7-10 days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. Some types of malaria parasites can lie dormant in your body for up to a year before they are activated and cause a malarial infection.
Symptoms of malaria include:
- Severe shaking chills
- A general feeling of discomfort
- Muscle or joint pain
- Abdominal pain
- Rapid heart rate
- Rapid breathing
Complications and Severe Infection
Malarial infection can be fatal, particularly when caused by the plasmodium species which is the deadliest form and quite common in Africa. Malaria deaths are usually related to one or more serious complications, including:
- Cerebral malaria: This is caused by the blockages of small blood vessels leading to the brain by parasite-filled blood cells. It induces brain swelling of your brain or brain damage and may cause seizures and coma.
- Low blood sugar: Another complication that may arise from severe malarial infection is low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Quinine, a common medication used to combat malaria may also cause very low blood sugar which can result in coma or death.
- Organ failure: Severe malaria can cause the spleen to rupture or damage the kidneys or liver. These are life-threatening conditions
- Breathing problems
- Anemia: Malaria parasites attack the red blood cells therefore in a severe or a case of poorly treated malaria may result in not having enough red blood cells for an adequate supply of oxygen to the body’s tissues.
Causes Of Malaria
Malaria is caused by plasmodium, a genus of parasitic protozoans. Plasmodium infects red blood cells in mammals, especially in tropical and temperate zones. This parasite organism is commonly transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. However, other insects including mites carrying this parasite may also transmit forms of malaria to animals.
Malaria is transmitted when a person is bitten by an infective female Anopheles mosquito which feeds on human blood to obtain nourishment for its eggs. Only the Anopheles mosquito is capable of transmitting malaria and this occurs when an infected mosquito feeds on human blood (usually between dusk and dawn), it injects immature forms of the parasite (sporozoites) into the bloodstream. These sporozoites are carried to the liver by the blood where they mature into forms known as schizonts. After 7-14 days of infection, each schizont multiplies into thousands of other forms known as merozoites. Merozoites break out of the liver and reenter the bloodstream, and attack only the red blood cells. They invade and feed on it growing and dividing, inducing the destruction of the blood cells while multiplying and feeding on it.
It takes about 48 hours after the invasion of a blood cell by the parasite before the rupture of that cell by the next generation of merozoites for P. vivax, P. falciparum, and P. ovale. The cycle in P. malaria is 72 hours and 24 hours in P. knowlesi which has the shortest life cycle of the known human Plasmodium pathogens. This implies that parasites rupture from infected blood cells daily.
Malaria can also be transmitted through blood transfusion and organ transplant because the malaria parasite lives and multiplies in the red blood cells of an infected person. Also, the shared use of needles or syringes contaminated with blood can transmit malaria. It can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her unborn infant before or during delivery; this is referred to as “congenital” malaria. Malaria is not a contagious disease and can not spread from person to person like a cold or the flu, nor can it be sexually transmitted.
Although residents of a malaria region exposed to the disease long enough may acquire partial immunity which can lessen the severity of malaria symptoms, this partial immunity can wane if they move to a place where they are no longer exposed to the parasite. Also, some varieties of the malaria parasite, which are responsible for causing milder forms of the disease, can persist for years and cause relapses.
Mosquito transmission cycle
- Uninfected mosquito: Becomes infected by feeding on an infected person who has malaria.
- Parasite transmission: This infected mosquito bites and transmits malaria parasites to a non-infected person.
- Carried to the liver: The parasite is carried to the liver by the blood — where some types can lie dormant for up to a year.
- Bloodstream: Mature parasites called schizonts multiply into thousands each to form merozoites which break out of the liver and invade the red blood cells. This takes a period of about one to two weeks, after which people may begin to develop malaria symptoms.
- The next person: If an uninfected mosquito bites this infected individual at this point in the cycle, it will become infected with the malaria parasites in the blood and spread these parasites to other uninfected people it bites.
Prevention Of Malaria
Malarial infection, complications, and death can be prevented even in areas where malaria is common. It is important to take preventive steps against mosquito bites. Mosquitoes are most active between dusk and dawn (sleep time).
- Proper covering: Cover every part of your skin as much as possible. Wear trousers, long-sleeved shirts, and socks and tuck in your shirt, and tuck trouser legs into the socks.
- Use suitable mosquito repellent on the skin: It is important to note that before using any repellent on your ensure it is suitable for you registered with the Environmental Protection Agency. Use it on any exposed skin. Using unsuitable repellents may cause skin irritation and rashes. Dermatologists recommend the use of These include repellents that contain DEET, IR3535, picaridin, para-menthane-3,8-diol (PMD), oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), or 2-undecanoate.
- Spray directly on your face.
- Unsuitable products like products with OLE or PMD on children under age 3.
- Spray repellent on clothing: Using spray repellent containing permethrin is safe to apply to clothing.
- Use a treated mosquito net: Sleeping under a bed net treated with insecticides, such as permethrin, will help prevent mosquito bites during sleep
- Taking prescribed antimalarial medication to kill the parasites and prevent becoming ill also actively keeps mosquitoes from biting you, especially at night
- Use insecticides indoors and shut off the doors and windows at night
Treatment Of Malaria
- Use of effective antimalarial drugs: There are many effective antimalarial drugs in the drug store today. Ensure you only take drugs prescribed by your healthcare provider, They prescribe these drugs considering different factors like travel plans, pregnancy status, medical history, age, drug allergies, and a range of other factors. These factors are considered to prescribe effective doses or any special doses of medicine (especially doses for children and infants). Malaria medicines taken to prevent malaria are the same drugs used to treat the disease.
- Vaccine: The World Health Organization recommends a malaria vaccine for use in children who live in regions with high numbers of malaria cases consisting of moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission, the broad use of the RTS, S/AS01 malaria vaccine which has been shown to effectively reduce malaria. Although attempts at producing an effective malaria vaccine are ongoing clinical trials due to the complex life cycle of organism parasites, developing a vaccine against a lot of varying surfaces is very difficult. However, researchers are continuing to develop and study malaria vaccines to prevent infection.
- Preventive chemotherapy: This is the use of medicines, either alone or in combination, to prevent malaria infections and their complications. This method involves the use of intermittent preventive treatment of infants (IPTi) and pregnant women (IPTp), chemoprophylaxis, mass drug administration (MDA), and seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC).
- Malaria is a fatal disease caused by parasites that are transmitted through the bites of only infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
- It can also be transmitted through organ donation, blood transfusion, and exposure to infected blood.
- It is preventable and curable
- Risk factors like living in or visiting areas where the disease is common, increase the chances of this disease. These include the tropical and subtropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Pacific Islands and Central America, and northern South America
- People at increased risk of severe malarial infection include: young children and infants, the aging populace, travelers From areas with no malaria, pregnant women, and the unborn children
- High malaria rates are linked to a lack of access to preventive measures, medical care, and information.
- Preventive measures and treatment for malaria are very common