Malaria

Malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a parasitic disease. This means that it is caused by a parasite, a tiny organism that lives in or on other organisms called a host.

This parasite is from the genus Plasmodium and the host is a female mosquito of the Anopheles genus.

The parasite is transferred to a potential victim when he or she is bitten by a mosquito.

Causes of Malaria

Malaria is caused by a parasite that has infected the saliva glands of a female mosquito. There are five types of Plasmodium that can infect humans. They include P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, P. vivax and P. knowlesi. Most number of cases of malaria are caused by P. falciparum. Once a mosquito that has been infected by the parasite that has grown to a certain stage of development bites someone then that person gets malaria. If another female mosquito then bites the malaria victim, she can pass it to other people without being infected itself (that mosquito is called a vector).

Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms of Malaria can vary greatly, from no symptoms at all or mild to extremely serious and may even result in death. Malaria is often divided into two different categories. The first category is called the uncomplicated category and the other is complicated category.

Incubation Period of Malaria

Depending on the type of parasite the incubation period can range anywhere from 7-30 days. People who have traveled to Malaria prone areas should tell their doctor that they have done so, because even with the antimalarial drugs, some types of malaria can delay onset of symptoms for up to one year.

1. Uncomplicated Malaria
The general (but very infrequent) attack of malaria usually continues 6-10 hours. There are three phases to this and these usually return every 2 to 3 days depending upon the type of parasite.
The cold phase (shivering, feeling cold)
The hot phase (vomiting, fever, headache; convulsions in children)
The Sweating phase (sweating, normal temperature, sleepiness)
However, more often the patient usually has the following signs and symptoms:
Chills
Fever
Nausea and vomiting
Headache
General discomfort
Body aches
In some patients, one may observe enlarged spleen, fever, perspiration, general weakness. If a patient is infected with P. Falciparum, they may develop symptoms such as enlarged Liver, mild jaundice, and increase respiratory rate.

Depending upon the country and the frequency that malaria is experienced the patient will either self-medicate; as we do here in America with a cold or they will seek professional help after improper medications fail to take effect.

2. Complicated Malaria
This usually occurs where there is either low or no immunity to this disease, including locations where Malaria disease is rare or immunity is low because of other health risks. Complicated malaria results in blood and organ disorders, including fluid on the lung, and loss of kidney function.

In all areas of the world complicated Malaria disease is an emergency and should be treated as quickly and as intensely as possible because without treatment other major medical problems appear and eventually death does occur. As with other conditions pregnancy may be complicated resulting in pre-term labor or low birth-weight babies. In some extreme cases, there is a possibility of early termination of the pregnancy.

Severe Malarial Bouts
When a patients develops a serious P. falciparum infection, it results in multiple organ failure. It may even lead to abnormalities in the normal metabolism of the patient and blood. These complications include:
Severe anemia due to destruction of normal red blood cells
Presence of hemoglobin urine (hemoglobinuria)
Pulmonary edema and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
Decrease in blood platelets that leads to blood coagulation and thrombocytopenia
Cardiovascular shock
Low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia), especially in pregnant women
Malarial Relapse
Malaria relapses are also known to happen, even months and years after the first attack. This is due to one genus of parasites having dormant stages that have been known to reactivate long after the disease has been cured. There are medications that are able to prevent this and should be started as soon after the first attack as possible.

Treatment of Malaria Disease

Laboratory tests should be performed and diagnosis of Malaria Disease should be confirmed before any treatment is started. Not doing this should be reserved only for special cases, limiting it to those situations where clear suspicion of a very extreme case is determined and lack of facilities necessitates doing so.