Malaria: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

17 Jun, 2021 by Admin

With the COVID pandemic taking over the world, awareness must be raised about the other diseases and analyzed risk factors. These factors need to be understood by ordinary people. Malaria being one of the diseases that occur frequently and can be spread vividly, it is crucial to understand the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Let's start by understanding what Malaria is? Then, we will be moving to the detailed descriptions of types, risks involved, and other symptoms.

What is Malaria?

Malaria is a critical and life-threatening illness induced by an insect bite by a specific variety of mosquitoes known as the Female Anopheles mosquito. These parasites feed on human blood and its contents. This disease is among one of the most deadly and prevalent contagious diseases. Malaria hits approximately 4,45,000 humans a year. This rate is increasing due to the increase in mosquitoes. Also, the overheard of mosquitoes are frequent because of several factors described in the blog later.

Kinds of Malaria!

There are various kinds of Malaria based on the species of the mosquito that bite you. Prevalent are five varieties of parasites that can contaminate humans and induce Malaria. Out of these five, two of the Malaria are extremely dangerous.

(1) Plasmodium falciparum (or P. falciparum):

This type is most frequent in Africa and is liable for maximum mortality across the globe. It propagates very quickly, generating critical blood injury and clogging of blood capillaries. This Malaria becomes highly serious when the clogging reaches an extreme level, and it typically ends up in deaths.

(2) Plasmodium malariae (or P. malariae):

According to Wikipedia, Plasmodium malariae is a parasitic protozoan that creates Malaria in people. Certain species of Plasmodium parasites affect other bodies as pathogens, like Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, which is accountable for the most extensive malarial infection.

(3) Plasmodium vivax (or P. vivax):

You are more likely to find this parasite species in sub-Sahara Africa, Asia and Latin America. This kind of parasite can contaminate blood even after long periods, including months and years following the initial mosquito bite.

(4) Plasmodium ovale (or P. ovale):

Plasmodium ovale is a variety of parasitic protozoa that produce tertian Malaria in people. It is among many Plasmodium parasites that infect humans, like Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum which are liable for the usual malarial disease.

(5) Plasmodium knowlesi (or P. knowlesi):

Plasmodium knowlesi is a bacteria that creates Malaria in individuals and other primates. This type of parasite is found in Southeast Asia and is among the reasons for the highest human malaria cases in Malaysia. 

After knowing the type of Malaria, let's understand what signs to look for to ascertain if you have Malaria infection.

Symptoms!

The symptoms of Malaria typically become visible within 10 to 14 days of the initial mosquito bite. There are a few symptoms that might appear in the very initial stages. The common symptoms of a body experiencing Malaria incorporate:-

• High fever
• Fatigue
• Body chills varying from high to moderate.
• Excessive sweating
• Headache
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Pain in the abdomen
• Nausea
• Muscles pain
• Blood in stools
• Anemia
• Seizures
• Coma in stubborn cases

If any of these symptoms are prominent in your case or anyone is known to you, Trulabs suggest that you know the initial precautions after you book pathology tests online to confirm the disease and here is a glimpse of diagnosis and treatment options. Please note that none of these overpowers medical supervision and must not be considered alternatives to a doctor's advice. Also, these symptoms don’t confirm malaria possession, you must always get yourself tested at your convenience by booking a lab test online or offline.

Initial Precautions to avoid Malaria:-

• Mosquitoes develop in places with concentrated still water. It can be marshes and fishponds, or even water settled on rooftops, hinges, old bottles etc. Removal of breeding localities prevents mosquitoes from reproducing.
• You can fill the mosquito breeding sites with stones or anything that treats the region.
• The building of decent drainage decreases the chance of Malaria. Assure that the seepage is non-obstructed and closed.
• Planting of eucalyptus plants specifically shuns breeding of Malaria. These trees possess medicinal benefit and resist the mosquitoes that generate Malaria.
• Maintaining standardized sanitation and health also aids in avoiding the breeding of mosquitoes.
• Routine pest administration is required, and in case of the presence of a water body nearby, regular cleaning and spraying of medicines around to limit larva from growing is essential.

In general, you must practice washing your hands and sanitizing them regularly, especially when you visit a crowded area.

Diagnosis & Treatment!

Malaria is found by examining the parasite beneath a microscope in the blood specimen of the infected body. Malaria is cured with particular medications, usually oral medicines, except in some critical situations.

Medications called antimalarials are used to destroy the parasite that induces Malaria. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests artemisinin-based compound therapy (ACT) approach for simple Malaria. ACT is linked with a companion drug to decrease the influence of disease in the initial three days of contagion, and the companion drug works to reduce the surplus of the infections.