What is Malaria?
Malaria is a serious and life-threatening disease which is transmitted through Anopheles mosquito. The infected mosquito carries Plasmodium parasite, and when this mosquito bites, they release parasite in the bloodstream. Once these parasites enter the body, they travel to the liver and multiply. These parasites affect the red blood cells that carry oxygen; they lay eggs inside the red blood cells and multiply until the cells burst. As the parasites attack healthy red blood cells, the infection can make an individual sick and weak.
Malaria is not a contagious disease, but it can be transmitted from a pregnant mother to her newborn child, blood transfusions, needle sharing and organ transplant. Malaria is usually found in tropical and subtropical countries such as Africa, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Central America, South America, Oceania, and South Asia. Each year approximately 210 million people are infected with malaria, and about 4,40,000 people die from the disease. Most of the people infected by malaria are young children in Africa who die from the disease.
Symptoms of Malaria:
Symptoms of malaria typically develop in around 10 days to 4 weeks; some of the common malaria symptoms are as follows:
- High fever
- Chills
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Muscle Pain
- Diarrhea
- Headache
Other Signs and Symptoms of Malaria Fever are:
- Abdominal pain
- Profuse Sweating
- Bloody Stools
- Anemia
Types of Malaria Malarial Parasites:
There are five types of malarial parasites:
- P. falciparum (Plasmodium Falciparum)
- P. malariae (Plasmodium malariae)
- P. vivax (Plasmodium vivax)
- P. ovale (Plasmodium ovale)
- P. knowlesi (Plasmodium knowlesi)
Causes of Malaria:
There are no multiple malaria causes. Malaria is caused by Anopheles mosquito bite; only female mosquitoes spread the malaria parasites. When an infected mosquito bites a healthy person the parasites are injected in the red blood cells of that person, this is how the disease spreads.
Mosquito Transmission Cycle:
- An uninfected mosquito feeds on a person having malaria and becomes infected
- This infected mosquito transmits malaria parasites when they bite a healthy individual
- When the parasites enter the body, they travel to the liver and attack the healthy red blood cells in the body
- The parasites infect the liver and develop malaria symptoms
- Now when an uninfected mosquito bites the infected person, then the malaria parasites are transmitted to the mosquito, and the malaria life cycle continues
The above mentioned cycle is known as the life cycle of malaria parasite.
Also Read: Dehydration in Summer – Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Home Remedies
Prevention of Malaria:
To protect yourself from mosquito bites, below are some of the steps for prevention of malaria:
- Wear full clothes so that the skin is covered
- Make use of insect or mosquito repellents on skin and clothes
- Bed nets while sleeping prevents mosquito bites
Apart from this prevention of malaria can be done by following the below-stated steps.
Vaccine & Medicine for Malaria:
Prevention tips for malaria are not hard to follow. When you develop the symptoms of malaria you should immediately consult a healthcare professional and seek medical help. The medicines taken to prevent malaria are the same medicines used to treat the disease.
Some of the medications usually prescribed by the doctor are chloroquine, mefloquine, artesunate, artemisinin-based combination therapy and atovaquone-proguanil. However, globally scientists are in the process of developing an effective and safe malaria vaccine. As of now, there are no vaccines clinically approved for the prevention of malaria.
Treatment of Malaria:
The treatment of malaria by healthcare professionals would depend on various factors such as age, severity of the symptoms, type of parasite, the geographic region in which infection occurred and others. The doctors would prescribe medicines for treating malaria based on the type of parasite present in the blood. P.vivax and P. ovale are the two types of parasites that affect the liver and can stay for a longer time in the body. Thus, the doctor would give different medication for the treatment of malaria in such cases.
Labs and Test Costs of Malaria in India
The malaria test cost starts in India from Rs. 180/-. All the pathology labs near you would perform the malaria tests; the price range of the malaria test would be from Rs. 180/- to Rs. 1,000/- depending on the type of test performed and pathology lab. So, if you observe any symptoms of Malaria, immediately book an appointment with Agilus Diagnostics lab near you.
Agilus Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Limited
