Malaria is a life-threatening febrile disease which is caused by a parasite known as Plasmodium. The parasite is usually transmitted to humans by a female mosquito called Anopheles mosquito. Once the infected Anopheles mosquito bites someone, the parasite will multiply in the liver of the host, infect and destroy the red blood cells. While many countries have resources that can help in, prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of malaria, other countries especially the third world countries are still dealing with lack of resources of dealing with this disease, and as a result, malaria continues to be life-threatening in these countries. In 2016, 91 countries reported 216 million malaria cases which were an increase of 5% from 2015. Out of the 216 million cases, there were 445000 deaths. Most of Malaria caused deaths happen in Africa and Asia (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). There are five different species of Plasmodium parasite which can infect humans two of which cause the most significant threats. The two species include P. falciparum and P. vivax . The former is the most prevalent parasite in Africa and causes most malaria deaths in the world. The latter is dominant in countries outside the Sub Sahara Africa.
The symptoms of malaria usually appear within 10 to 15 days after the infection by the mosquito bite. Some of the early symptoms of malaria include fever, headache and vomiting, and chills. At this time, the parasite inhabits the liver and multiplies in the blood. The fever gets intermittent and recurs after few days. The infected red blood cells burst and liberate merozoites . Malarial antigens and toxic metabolites are also released upon the bursting of the infected cells. The body system responds with fever. If P. falciparum is the cause of malaria, then the fever may occur on the first, third and fifth day whereas if P. malariae is the cause, then fever may occur on the first, fourth and seventh day in that pattern. It is imperative to note that malaria caused by P. falciparum infection does not always manifest changes in cyclic temperature. Also, it is important to note that P. falciparum caused malaria can kill within two days of the first sign (WHO, 2015). For this reason, anyone with the malaria sign should seek immediate medical treatment. If not diagnosed and treated early enough, the consequences can be fatal. Severe malaria can invest itself through different symptoms such as cerebral malaria, respiratory distress as well as anemia.
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Youyou Tu of China discovered a potent anti-malarial treatment after a series of research. Tu was part of the team of Chinese Government which was charged with the responsibility of finding a new drug that could be used for malarial treatment after the commonly used medication had failed. Depending on the type of parasite that one has, he or she can get prescription from the doctor. Early treatment can help reduce malaria deaths. The most popular treatment for malaria especially the P. falciparum malaria is artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT). World Health Organization recommends that any suspected Malaria should be confirmed using parasite based testing before treatment (WHO, 2015). The presence of the parasite can manifest within 30minutes. Treatment based on symptoms can be considered when the diagnosis of the parasite is impossible.
The main way of preventing and reducing the transmission of malaria is through vector control. Areas where vector control is high also stand a chance of being protected from the transmission. WHO recommends several vector control measures such as using treated mosquito nets and spraying households with anti-malarial’ insecticides. Malaria can also be prevented using anti-malarial medicine. Travelers are usually advised to carry along chemoprophylaxis which suppresses the stages of infection thus preventing the disease. For pregnant women, WHO recommends sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine at every scheduled visit especially after the first trimester (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). For infants living in malaria-prone areas, three doses of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine should be administered together with the routine vaccination.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Recommendations for managing and preventing cases of malaria in areas with Ebola. Atlanta, GA, USA: CDC, 2015.
World Health Organization. (2015). Guidelines for the treatment of malaria . World Health Organization.
