What is Malaria, Causes, Signs and Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment.

Today's topic is malaria. Malaria is a life-threatening disease. It's typically transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. Infected mosquitos carry their Plasmodium parasite when this mosquito bites you the parasite is released into your bloodstream.

 Causes:

 Malaria can occur if a mosquito infected with the Plasmodium parasite bites you. 

There are four kinds of malaria parasites that can infect humans.

1.Plasmodium vivax

2.plasmodium ovale

3.plasmodium malariae

4.Plasmodiumfalciparum

Plasmodium falciparum:

Causes a more severe form of the disease and those who contract this form of malaria have a higher risk of death. An infected mother can also pass the disease to her baby at birth this is known as congenital malaria. Malaria is transmitted by blood so it can be transmitted through an organ transplant.A transfusion use of shared needles or syringes

Signs and Symptoms:

 A malaria infection is generally characterized by recurrent attacks with the following signs and symptoms:

Moderate to severe shaking chills

High fever sweating

Other signs and symptoms may include

Headache

Vomiting

Diarrhea

 Malaria signs and symptoms typically begin within a few weeks after being bitten by an infected mosquito however sometimes if malaria parasites can lie dormant in your body for up to a year.

Diagnosis:

 Blood tests can show the presence of the parasite and helped tailor treatment by determining:

Whether you have malaria.

Which type of malaria parasite is causing your symptoms.

If your infection is caused by a parasite resistant to certain drugs.

Whether the disease is affecting any of your vital organs.

Some blood tests can take several days to complete, while others can produce results in less than 15 minutes.

Treatment:

Treatment 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.

 Medications:

The most common anti malarial drugs include:

Chloroquine.

Quinine sulphate.

Hydroxychloroquine.

Mefloquine.

Combination of atovaquone and proguanil.

The history of anti malarial medicine has been marked by a constant

struggle between evolving drug-resistant parasites and the search for new drug and formulations. In many parts of the world, for instance, resistance to chloroquine has rendered the drug ineffective.

Thank You