Malaria: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

About Malaria

A life-threatening disease, malaria is caused by parasites and infects a living being’s blood. The root cause of it is an Anopheles mosquito. In other words, when an Anopheles mosquito bites a human being, the parasites are transferred to the human body, multiplying exponentially in number, which infects the liver, causing a drastic decline in the person’s red blood cells.

The disease in history was first identified in the year 1880 and was termed as an illness caused by parasitic infection. The name of the disease was coined by the Italian word Mal’aria, which literally means “bad air.” It is said that generally it is the time between dusk and dawn that the Anopheles mosquitoes bite humans, leading to the breakout of this disease.

Coming to the symptoms of Malaria, it is divided into two categories: Uncomplicated Malaria and Severe Malaria. The first one as the name suggests is the one that is diagnosed with initial symptoms and in these cases, treatment is still possible.

However, if the victim is left unattended, this type of malaria can quickly transform into severe malaria, becoming life-threatening instantly. It is very difficult to diagnose uncomplicated malaria as people tend to treat them as signs of mild fever or cold.

The common symptoms of uncomplicated malaria include sensations of cold, extreme shivering, frequent headaches, fever, vomiting or vomiting sensations, fatigue, and sweating.

On the other hand, severe malaria is a very serious version of the disease, wherein according to clinical definitions, there are generally organ dysfunctions.

The symptoms of severe malaria are loss of consciousness, fever, chills, prostration, multiple convulsions, uneven breathing, respiratory distress, symptoms of anemia, and in some cases bleeding, clinical jaundice, and at times also signs of organ dysfunctions.

Coming to the treatment of malaria, the disease can be fatal if left untreated. The main objective of the treatment is to eradicate the plasmodium parasite, which is transmitted into the victim’s system through an Anopheles mosquito.

The World Health Organization recommends the Artemisinin-based combination therapy in cases of uncomplicated malaria, in order to quickly lessen the number of Plasmodium parasites in the victim’s body. Artemisinin is then combined with a partner drug to make an effective impact in treating the patient.

However, recent cases show that around five countries have developed resistance towards Artemisinin, following which there’s a widespread to reduce the resistance in patients for the drug as presently there are no other alternatives to Artemisinin.

Also, there is ongoing research to discover anti-malarial vaccines, and from the lot one vaccine is currently very close to becoming a licensed one in Europe.