Symptoms of Malaria - know the symptoms of malaria.
Symptoms of Malaria - know the symptoms of malaria.
What is malaria?
Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a plasmodium parasite and spread by the Anopheles mosquito. In 2015, there were 214 million cases of and 438,000 deaths due to malaria.
What is malaria?
Malaria is a serious, sometimes fatal, disease spread by mosquitoes and caused by a parasite. Malaria was a significant health risk in the U.S. until it was eliminated by multiple programs in the late 1940s. The illness presents with flu-like symptoms that include high fever and chills.
There are three necessary aspects to the malaria life cycle:
The Anopheles mosquito carries the parasite and is where the parasite starts its life cycle.
The parasite (Plasmodium) has multiple subspecies, each causing a different severity of symptoms and responding to different treatments.
The parasite first travels to a human's liver to grow and multiply. It then travels in the bloodstream and infects and destroys red blood cells.
Is malaria contagious?
Malaria is not spread from person to person (except in pregnancy as noted below below) but can be spread in certain circumstances without a mosquito. This occurs rarely and is usually found in a transmission from the mother to the unborn child (congenital malaria), by blood transfusions, or when intravenous-drug users share needles.
What is the incubation period for malaria?
Following the mosquito bite, there is about a seven- to 30-day period before symptoms appear (incubation period). P. falciparum usually has a short incubation period.
What causes malaria?
Parasites of the genus Plasmodium cause malaria. Although there are many species of Plasmodium, only five infect humans and cause malaria.
P. falciparum: found in tropical and subtropical areas; major contributor to deaths from severe malaria
P. vivax: found in Asia and Latin America; has a dormant stage that can cause relapses
P. ovale: found in Africa and the Pacific islands
P. malariae: worldwide; can cause a chronic infection
P. knowlesi: found throughout Southeast Asia; can rapidly progress from an uncomplicated case to a severe malaria infection
What are malaria symptoms and signs?
Malaria has a wide spectrum of symptoms. After the bite by the infected mosquito occurs, it can take between seven and 30 days (average is seven to 15 days) before symptoms start (incubation period).
Malaria is classified as uncomplicated or complicated (severe).
Uncomplicated malaria
The most common symptoms are
fever and chills,
headaches,
nausea and vomiting, and
general weakness and body aches.
The classic description of a malaria attack (which is rarely observed), would be a six- to 12-hour period of cold and shivering alternating with fever and headaches and then a stage of sweating and tiredness (sometimes divided into the cold and hot stage).
As these symptoms are very nonspecific, it is important to evaluate if the patient has risk factors for malaria (usual travel in endemic areas).
Complicated or severe malaria
This occurs when different body systems are affected by malaria.
Severe anemia (due to destruction of red blood cells)
Kidney failure
Cerebral malaria -- seizures, unconsciousness, abnormal behavior, or confusion
Cardiovascular collapse
Low blood sugar (in pregnant women after treatment with quinine)
How do physicians diagnose malaria?
The symptoms of malaria can mimic many other diseases, including influenza or a viral syndrome. It is therefore important to inquire about a history of recent travel to an endemic area or other possible exposures.
The definite diagnosis is made by looking at the blood of an infected patient under the microscope (blood smear) and identifying the presence of the parasite. The patients' blood is prepared under a slide with a specific stain to help identify the parasite. This is the most widely performed and accepted test.
Rapid diagnostic tests (antigen tests) are available that can give the diagnosis in a few minutes. It is recommended that a positive test is followed with a blood smear examination.
$#$___Worldwide, malaria is responsible for over 400,000 deaths per year. The majority of victims are young children from sub-Saharan Africa. Death is usually due to lack of available treatment or access to treatment.
Is there a malaria vaccine?
There is currently no commercial vaccine available to prevent malaria.
The WHO is supporting the pilot implementation in several sub-Saharan countries.
How can people prevent malaria?
No medication is 100% effective, and therefore the prevention of mosquito bites is of paramount importance. These preventive measures should include the following:
Sleeping under bed nets: These should cover all of the bed down to the floor. These nets are most effective if they are treated with an insecticide.
Clothing: Clothing that covers most of the exposed skin and shoes that are closed can reduce the risk of bites. All clothing should be tucked in, and pants should be tucked into socks to avoid exposure around the ankles. In addition, treating clothes with insecticides can prevent bites even further.
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REFERENCES:
Switzerland. World Health Organization. "Malaria." April 2016. <http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/>.
Tintinalli, Judith E., ed. Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011: 1056-1062.
What is malaria?
Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a plasmodium parasite and spread by the Anopheles mosquito. In 2015, there were 214 million cases of and 438,000 deaths due to malaria.
What is malaria?
Malaria is a serious, sometimes fatal, disease spread by mosquitoes and caused by a parasite. Malaria was a significant health risk in the U.S. until it was eliminated by multiple programs in the late 1940s. The illness presents with flu-like symptoms that include high fever and chills.
There are three necessary aspects to the malaria life cycle:
The Anopheles mosquito carries the parasite and is where the parasite starts its life cycle.
The parasite (Plasmodium) has multiple subspecies, each causing a different severity of symptoms and responding to different treatments.
The parasite first travels to a human's liver to grow and multiply. It then travels in the bloodstream and infects and destroys red blood cells.
Is malaria contagious?
Malaria is not spread from person to person (except in pregnancy as noted below below) but can be spread in certain circumstances without a mosquito. This occurs rarely and is usually found in a transmission from the mother to the unborn child (congenital malaria), by blood transfusions, or when intravenous-drug users share needles.
What is the incubation period for malaria?
Following the mosquito bite, there is about a seven- to 30-day period before symptoms appear (incubation period). P. falciparum usually has a short incubation period.
What causes malaria?
Parasites of the genus Plasmodium cause malaria. Although there are many species of Plasmodium, only five infect humans and cause malaria.
P. falciparum: found in tropical and subtropical areas; major contributor to deaths from severe malaria
P. vivax: found in Asia and Latin America; has a dormant stage that can cause relapses
P. ovale: found in Africa and the Pacific islands
P. malariae: worldwide; can cause a chronic infection
P. knowlesi: found throughout Southeast Asia; can rapidly progress from an uncomplicated case to a severe malaria infection
What are malaria symptoms and signs?
Malaria has a wide spectrum of symptoms. After the bite by the infected mosquito occurs, it can take between seven and 30 days (average is seven to 15 days) before symptoms start (incubation period).
Malaria is classified as uncomplicated or complicated (severe).
Uncomplicated malaria
The most common symptoms are
fever and chills,
headaches,
nausea and vomiting, and
general weakness and body aches.
The classic description of a malaria attack (which is rarely observed), would be a six- to 12-hour period of cold and shivering alternating with fever and headaches and then a stage of sweating and tiredness (sometimes divided into the cold and hot stage).
As these symptoms are very nonspecific, it is important to evaluate if the patient has risk factors for malaria (usual travel in endemic areas).
Complicated or severe malaria
This occurs when different body systems are affected by malaria.
Severe anemia (due to destruction of red blood cells)
Kidney failure
Cerebral malaria -- seizures, unconsciousness, abnormal behavior, or confusion
Cardiovascular collapse
Low blood sugar (in pregnant women after treatment with quinine)
How do physicians diagnose malaria?
The symptoms of malaria can mimic many other diseases, including influenza or a viral syndrome. It is therefore important to inquire about a history of recent travel to an endemic area or other possible exposures.
The definite diagnosis is made by looking at the blood of an infected patient under the microscope (blood smear) and identifying the presence of the parasite. The patients' blood is prepared under a slide with a specific stain to help identify the parasite. This is the most widely performed and accepted test.
Rapid diagnostic tests (antigen tests) are available that can give the diagnosis in a few minutes. It is recommended that a positive test is followed with a blood smear examination.
$#$___Worldwide, malaria is responsible for over 400,000 deaths per year. The majority of victims are young children from sub-Saharan Africa. Death is usually due to lack of available treatment or access to treatment.
Is there a malaria vaccine?
There is currently no commercial vaccine available to prevent malaria.
The WHO is supporting the pilot implementation in several sub-Saharan countries.
How can people prevent malaria?
No medication is 100% effective, and therefore the prevention of mosquito bites is of paramount importance. These preventive measures should include the following:
Sleeping under bed nets: These should cover all of the bed down to the floor. These nets are most effective if they are treated with an insecticide.
Clothing: Clothing that covers most of the exposed skin and shoes that are closed can reduce the risk of bites. All clothing should be tucked in, and pants should be tucked into socks to avoid exposure around the ankles. In addition, treating clothes with insecticides can prevent bites even further.
FaceBook FB YOuTube AmaZon Blog
Zyropathy Zyro SnapDeal
REFERENCES:
Switzerland. World Health Organization. "Malaria." April 2016. <http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/>.
Tintinalli, Judith E., ed. Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011: 1056-1062.
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