This blog will tell you about disease Malaria so we will discuss the introduction to Malaria along with the classification of Malaria. It also contains the detail about Modes of Transmission of Malaria. Then we will also discuss the main Symptoms of Malaria. Then we will discuss the Diagnosis of Malaria. At the end, we will discuss the Treatment of Malaria and the Preventive Measures of Malaria in detailed form. We will learn about the Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Diagnosis and Preventive Measures of Malaria.
What is Malaria?
Malaria is a life-threatening disease that is caused and transmitted to humans by certain kinds of Mosquitos. This disease is cause of many deaths every year.
It is primarily present in tropical regions of the earth. This disease is now both preventable and curable. Malaria is extremely dangerous because it can transmit among people very easily. The main mechanism of malaria is its mode of transmission. This blog contains Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of Malaria.
Classification of Malaria:
Following are the Classification of Malaria:
Asymptomatic Malaria:
It is the type of malaria that can be caused by all Plasmodium species. In this type, the patient have no symptoms but have a circulating parasite within their body.
Uncomplicated Malaria:
It can also be caused by all Plasmodium species. In this, the symptoms occurs after 7-10 days after the initial mosquito bites so symptoms are non-specific and can include fever, severe shaking and chills etc.
Severe Malaria:
It is caused by Plasmodium falciparum, though less frequently can be caused by Plasmodium vivax or Plasmodium knowlesi. Complication includes severe anemia, end-organ, coma etc.
These are the main classifications of Malaria.
Causes of Malaria:
Malaria occurs by natural process of transmission of parasites from one person to another. Another cause is human driven cause in rare cases. These modes of transmission are as follows:
Mode of transmission of Malaria:
Malaria can be transmitted from one infected person to another by a natural mechanism and by a human driven mechanism. These two modes of transmission are as follows:
• Mosquito bites:
The main and natural mode of transmission is transmission through mosquito bites so this process has two steps. In the first step the mosquito bites an infected person and take the parasite with it. Second step, that mosquito bites another person and transmit the parasite to the second person. In this way Malaria is transmitted from one person to another.
• Infected needles and Blood transfusion:
This mode of transmission is very rare as it can happen in some cases but mostly natural transmission occurs. In this case, during any medical treatment needles infected with parasites containing malaria are exposed to a healthy individual. Blood transfusion is another possibility (blood of a person is injected to another person) in this the transfused blood may contain the parasite and can harm the healthy individual. This is a rare condition and it occurs because of negligence.
These two modes of transmission may be the reason of causing Malaria.
Symptoms of Malaria:
The symptoms of Malaria are visible after 10-15 days after the mosquito bite. Following are the symptoms of Malaria:
Mild Symptoms:
Fever
Chills
Headache
Extreme Symptoms:
Extreme tiredness
Impaired consciousness
Multiple convulsions
Difficulty in Breathing
Dark or bloody urine
Jaundice
Abnormal Bleeding
Mild symptoms shows up on a normal individual. While extreme symptoms occurs when patient have HIV, AIDS. Pregnant women, children under 5 years, infants and travelers may also get severe symptoms.
Diagnosis of Malaria:
Following are the things that can diagnose Malaria:
Blood Test:
We can diagnose Malaria by simple blood test. The blood test will tell you the type of parasite to continue the treatment for its cure so Blood tests helps us to detect Malaria.
Travel History:
The health care provider may take your history to know about your activities such as travelling to different regions of the world and track the cause of Malaria to know its extent.
These things will help you diagnose Malaria.
Locations where Malaria and Attack people:
Malaria is mostly present in hot and humid regions with high temperatures so we find malaria in developing countries. These specific regions are as follows:
Africa
Central and South America
Dominican Republic, Haiti and other areas in the Caribbean.
Eastern Europe
South and Southeast Asia
Islands in the Central and South Pacific Ocean (Oceania).
These are the regions where getting malaria is possible and most common.
Treatment of Malaria:
It is very important to start the treatment of Malaria as soon as it is diagnosed. Because neglection is never tolerated in severe disease and it can bring many worst and extreme symptoms. We can treat Malaria with prescribed drugs to kill the parasite. The types of drugs and the length of treatment will vary, depending on:
- Which type of malaria parasite you have
- The severity of your symptoms
- Your age
- Whether you’re pregnant
We use few medications for treating Malaria.
Medication:
The advise of medication by health professionals is according to the type of parasite involved in causing of Malaria so Some anti-malarial drugs are as follows:
Artemisinin Drugs
Atovaquone
Chloroquine
Doxycycline
Mefloquine
Quinine
Primaquine
These medicines can cure Malaria. We should use them according to prescription.
Side Effects of Medication:
Antimalarial medications can cause secondary effects. Make certain to inform your supplier concerning different prescriptions you’re taking, since antimalarial medications can slow down them. Contingent upon the medicine, aftereffects might include:
- Gastrointestinal (GI) issues such as nausea and diarrhea.
- Headaches.
- Increased sensitivity to sunlight.
- Insomnia and disturbing dreams.
- Psychological disorders and vision problems.
- Ringing in the ears (tinnitus).
- Seizures.
- Anemia.
Prevention from Malaria:
We can prevent Malaria by using the following Techniques.
Mosquito Repellent Gels:
We can apply Mosquito repellent gels to avoid mosquito bites. They are made to apply on the skin while going out somewhere or before sleeping to avoid mosquitos from coming near you. This keeps mosquitos away from you and keep your safe from malaria. You should always have the mosquito repellent gel with you while travelling in hot and humid regions of the world.
Mosquito Repellent Devices:
We should use Mosquito repellent devices to avoid mosquito bites in the peak seasons of mosquitos. These devices uses mists to keep mosquitos away from the locations of their installation. These devices are effective against mosquitos and we can utilize them to protect your children and family from diseases and infections such as Malaria.
Use Nets while Sleeping:
Specially children should sleep with nets over them, this will lessen the chance to get malaria so the bodies should be completely cover at night to avoid mosquito bites. Using nets will protect children and the elders from mosquitos. This is a cheap and effective way to avoid Malaria and mosquito bites.
Be careful with used Injections:
We should be extremely careful with using injections or blood for medical procedures so needles should be disposed off and broken after usage. This can be very dangerous as the person infected with used injections may expose him or her to the Malaria virus.
Blood Transfusion:
We should test the Blood properly before Transfusion and if there is any danger, we should not use it. This can cause direct contact to malaria from any infected person’s blood to the other person so this may cause severe infections.
Malaria Vaccine:
Malaria vaccine is also formulated for the children to avoid extreme symptoms of Malaria, this is a must for kids. Everyone should get their vaccinations to avoid the severe symptoms of Malaria and for preventing it. This is an effective way to avoid extreme symptoms of Malaria.
These preventive measures will help to prevent Malaria.
Conclusion:
Malaria is a life-threatening disease that transmits through a mosquito bite. Its cause is parasite so this is a curable and preventable disease. We can treat malaria with several suitable medicines and get complete cure. For the prevention we should use mosquito repellent machines and gels to avoid mosquito bites and making malaria’s chances less. We should also be careful while using needles and blood for medical purposes. Vaccine should also be delivered to every child to avoid severe symptoms. These all preventive measures may prevent Malaria from occurring so this blog contains information about Causes, Symptoms and Treatment of Malaria.
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