Overview
Malaria is a common parasitic infection. This disease is transmitted from an infected person to an uninfected person through mosquitoes which carry Plasmodium parasites. Mosquitoes implicated in malaria are the female anopheles mosquitoes. Plasmodium parasites are protozoan parasites.
Malaria, as an infection, is serious and life-threatening.
Growing up, one might have been warned by their parent or guardian against getting rained on or playing in th rain due to risk of getting malaria. As we know scientifically, there is no association/relationship between rain and malaria. But we can give this explanation; when it rains, water content increases and so is stagnant water which harbours Plasmodium-bearing female anopheles mosquitoes. Therefore, during rainy seasons, episodes of malaria cases can increase.
Epidemiology
Malaria commonly affects regions of tropical and sub-tropical countries. Over 250 million people are infected with malaria per annum.
Each year, approximately 1 million people die of the disease per year. Most of these cases are attributed to occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, in children.
In the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, more than 3 billion people live at risk of getting infected with malaria.
Risk Factors
People living in tropical and subtropical areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, Pacific Islands, South Asia and Central America are at high risk of developing malarial infection.
Some groups are at high risk of getting ,malaria. These are;
- Children and babies
- People that have travelled from areas without malaria
- Pregnant women
- People living with HIV/AIDS
Causes
Malaria is caused by a unicellular parasite. The parasite is of the genus Plasmodium. Examples of Plasmodium species that cause malaria include ;
- Plasmodium malariae
- Plasmodium vivax
- Plasmodium falciparum
- Plasmodium ovale
- Plasmodium knowlesi
The first four parasites have been confirmed to cause malaria infections in humans. Plasmodium knowlesi infects monkeys.
How It Spreads
- Unscreened Plasmodia-infected blood being transfused to a healthy uninfected person
- Organ transplant from malaria-infected donors to uninfected recipients
- Sharing body piercing instruments and tools such as needles and syringes that are contaminated with malaria-infected blood
- From mother-to-child during delivery
- Through female anopheles mosquito bites
Signs & Symptoms
- Headache
- Coughing
- Sweating
- High fever
- Muscle ache
- Chills
- Joint pain
- Diarrhoea
- Pain in the abdomen
- Fatigue
- Tachycardia/ rapid heart rate
- Tachypnoea/ rapid rate of breathing
- Confusion
- Death
Test & Diagnosis
- Proper medical history. This can bring up information on any recent travels
- Physical exam for signs and symptoms of malaria
- Blood tests such as Rapid Diagnostic Tests(RDTs) and peripheral blood smear to check for parasites in blood cells.
- PCR to check for DNA of parasite in blood sample
Complications
Malaria is a fatal disease. deaths are related to any one or more of the following complications.
These are;
- Cerebral malaria
- Organ failure
- Anaemia
- Hypoglycemia
- Breathing difficulty due to pulmonary edema
Treatment & Management
Anti-malarial drugs are used to treat malaria.
These include;
- Chloroquine phosphate
- Quinine sulfate with doxycycline
- Primaquine phosphate
- Artemisinin-based combination therapies(ACTs)
- Atovaquone-proguanil
Prevention
- Malaria prophylaxis drugs
- Application of repellants on skin .
- Apply mosquito repellants onto clothing
- Sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets
- Administration of malaria vaccines for children living in malaria endemic areas. This strategy has been approved by the World Health Organization(WHO) to curb spread of malaria.
- Wear protective clothes when approaching forest areas and other bushy swamps