What is Malaria?
Malaria is an infectious disease that humans contract because of being bitten by a mosquito that carries the parasites. When the bite occurs these parasites are transferred into the personโs bloodstream, and this is how the infection gets its start. If left untreated malaria can result in extremely high fevers that may cause seizures or brain damage. Organ failure or losing the ability to breathe without assistance is also possible with malaria if the infected person does not receive treatment.
Malaria is uncommon in North America in the Northern Hemisphere but it is much more common in the Southern one, and in Africa and South Asia most prominently. Prevention is the best approach to avoiding malaria, and for most people this is done by being vaccinated against malaria in advance of traveling to these regions.
What Causes Malaria?
Mosquitoes contract malaria when they bite an animal or human that is infected with the disease. They then become an active carrier, and successive bite recipients are likely to have the malaria parasites passed on to them. It is also possible for babies to be born with malaria if the mother becomes infected in the later term of her pregnancy. A person may also get malaria from blood transfusions, use of hypodermic needles, or organ donations, although this is very rare.
Young children, seniors, and pregnant women are the groups who are most at risk when they get malaria, and in some cases they may be more at risk of becoming infected because of their age or pregnancy based on their living location or daily activities.
Malaria Symptoms
The most common malaria symptoms are fever, chills, nausea, muscle aches, headache, fatigue, chest pain, breathing difficulties, diarrhea, and vomiting. Worsening malaria that will occur if the person does not receive treatment can see them developing anemia (severe body weakness) or jaundice (yellowing of the skin).
Malaria symptoms usually start to be experienced 10 days to 1 month after the initial infection. In some rarer instances it can be possible for an infected individual to still be unaware they have malaria for up to a year after they were bitten by the mosquito. Malaria may also reappear as the parasites can be inactive in the personโs liver and then reenter the bloodstream years later.
Malaria Treatment
The standard approach to malaria treatment is to have the person start on a course of treatment with an antimalarial medication like Qualaquin or Lariam. These medications work well to eliminate the parasites, but it is important to start on them as soon as possible after a malaria diagnosis because the parasites can become resistant to the drugs and then may not be so easily eliminated by them.
A doctor may instruct a patient to begin on artemisinin combination therapy if they have plasmodium falciparum malaria. A blood test is usually required to determine which type of malaria parasite the person has contracted and then deciding on which antimalarial drug will be best for them.
