Malaria is undoubtedly one of the most life-threatening diseases that you must have heard of. It might be non-contagious, but it is a very serious condition that needs immediate medical attention.
This disease is caused by the bite of a specific type of infected female mosquito, namely Anopheles. These mosquitoes get affected by this infection through a Plasmodium that is found in small animals or plants that derive nutrients from other creatures. Later, when they bite any of their hosts, they transmit the same parasite to their body, causing malaria.
For most of you who have myths in mind about malaria, you must know it doesn’t spread to one another like a cold. But, if a mosquito bites you while you are still infected and then goes along to bite other healthy people, this parasite will be spread, and so will the malaria condition.
The symptoms are very clear for malaria, and there are blood tests assigned by the doctors to help determine the condition. These diagnostic tests will look out for the presence of infectious parasites within your blood. It doesn’t matter if you have been through malaria once or haven’t experienced it ever, you must be aware of the condition to be educated about what you must do if it affects you or anyone else in your circle.
What is the Malaria Disease?
In the list of parasitic infections, malaria is probably one of the worst types, which might even cause life-threatening complications in your body when it goes untreated or undiagnosed. The disease is quite prominent, mostly in the mosquito breeding areas. As per WHO statistics on a global scale, there were around 249 million cases of malaria in 2022, out of which 608,000 people from around 85 countries lost their lives to the disease.
You must know that malaria is definitely curable, but only if it gets diagnosed at the earliest for the doctors to commence with the treatment. Untreated or undiagnosed malaria conditions will lead you to experience organ failure or might also trigger internal bleeding or haemorrhage. A blood test for malaria is what most doctors recommend for detecting the presence of this disease in your body, its severity and the type of parasitic infection that has triggered it.
What Symptoms Indicate You Might be Experiencing Malaria?
Some of the symptoms that might be an indication that you are suffering from malaria are:
- Consistent headache
- Severe body aches
- High fever and chills
- Extreme fatigue or weakness
- Frequent vomiting
In case you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you must connect with your doctor, and they shall recommend you with some malaria blood tests. These symptoms might be due to a lot of other reasons, but it is always better to get a consultation from the doctor and get the condition diagnosed to be sure of what’s going on underneath the skin.
Once you are affected with the malaria infection, you will experience some severe symptoms that might become uncontrollable at times, which include:
- Extreme shivering
- Persistent fever with high temperatures
- Occasional seizures that last for a longer time
- Blood in stools
- Convulsion attacks
- Jaundice
- Concentration difficulties.
You don’t have to wait for your malaria infection to advance to this stage of symptoms and get the condition diagnosed when you are at the initial stage of experiencing the mild signs.
What are the Types of Malaria Blood Tests Out There?
For better knowledge, you must know that the causes of malaria also include transfusion of infected blood or transmission of the disease from mother to child. The root cause will be identified later, but first, the presence of parasites will be detected. When you reach out to the doctor to get your malaria symptoms diagnosed, they will recommend one or more types of blood tests from the list below:
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Malaria Blood Smear Test:
It is the most common blood test for malaria diagnosis. Here, the lab technician will be smearing your blood sample on the glass slide. It will be stained enough to view it under the microscope by a pathologist.
This test might be common, but not accurate enough at most times. This is because when you get this blood test done at the very early stage of experiencing malaria symptoms, the results might not show the detectable numbers of parasites.
Therefore, doctors will recommend you take repeated blood tests every 24 hours for at least two or three days to ensure a proper diagnosis.
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Malaria RDT (Rapid Diagnostic Test):
Malaria RDT is also termed as the antigen testing approach where a quick method is considered. Here, a test strip will be used, which changes colour to determine if the patient is suffering from malaria or not.
The change in colour will just indicate if the malaria parasite is present in the blood or not. This test will not give any insight into the type of Plasmodium species or the intensity of malaria that you are suffering from.
This test is recommended in situations where the smear test is not possible to be done.
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Malaria PCR Test:
It is a molecular testing approach for detecting malaria, approached with the PCR or Polymerase Chain Reaction test. It helps identify the different types of parasites, which helps decide the line of treatment for your infection.
It is an ideal test when your parasite numbers are considered low or when the blood smear test results don’t give enough clarity.
Also Read: Dengue Fever: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
What’s the Interpretation of the Malaria Blood Tests?
The malaria test result will be provided to you within 24 hours of your sample being collected, which will represent one of the below possibilities, which include:
- If the blood smear test results are negative, but you are still experiencing malaria symptoms, your doctor will recommend you to take the test yet again for the next 2 to 3 days.
- If the blood smear test results positive, your doctor will proceed further with other associated tests, such as molecular, antibody or drug-resistant tests, to get an idea upon prescribing medications, depending on factors such as disease severity, pregnancy and other conditions.
Conclusion
This is a brief insight into what malaria is and what type of symptoms it triggers in your body. When you reach out to your doctor to get the condition diagnosed, you will be recommended with one or more malaria blood tests for a thorough diagnosis.
Remember, the more accurate the diagnosis reports are, the more efficient will be the medications and treatment of malaria. Therefore, you must look out for the best diagnostic centres to get your malaria symptoms checked upon a doctor’s prescription. Agilus Diagnostics is the one-stop hub for you to acquire the most accurate and reliable malaria test results.
So, if you are experiencing malaria symptoms, connect with us over the phone or book your malaria blood test appointment with us through our website today! Our experts will not just diagnose your condition but will also help you learn malaria prevention tips to embark on in the future.
Agilus Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Limited
