2. What is Malaria?
What is malaria ?
· Malaria is an infectious disease caused by a parasite, Plasmodium, which
infects red blood cells.
· Malaria has infected humans since the beginning of mankind.
· In 1889, R. Ross discovered that mosquitoes transmitted malaria.
· four common species that cause malaria:
-Plasmodium falciparummalaria
- Plasmodium vivax,
- Plasmodium malariae,
- Plasmodium ovale
most serious type is Plasmodium falciparummalaria. It can be life-threatening.
The other three common species of malaria are generally less serious and are
usually not life-threatening.
3. How does plasmodium lives in
people?
The mosquito is a carrier of
the sporozoites of the
Plasmodium in his salivary
glands.
When it bites to the person,
the sporozoites goes to the
liver.
Then it transforms into
merozoites, and break out
the red blood cells, so the
person gets very sick, and
shows the first symptoms of
malaria, this is known as
paroxym.
4. How is malaria spread?
·Malaria is spread by female mosquitoes.
·parasite enters the bloodstream via the mosquitoes saliva.
· A pregnant woman can pass malaria onto her baby.
· Having a blood transfusion.
5. Who is affected by malaria?
Children and pregnant women are the most affected.
40% of people lives in affected countries.
Every year, 300 to 700 million people gets malaria and 1 million to 2
million die.
6. What are malaria symptoms and
signs?
Malaria symptoms.
Malaria Complications.
Celebral Malaria.
Blackwater fever.
Pulmonary edema.
Very low blood of sugar.
Hemolysis.
Coagulopathy.
7. How soon do symptoms occur?
·The time between the infective mosquito bite and the development of
malaria symptoms can range from 12 to 30 days depending on the type
of Plasmodia involved. One strain of Plasmodium, called P. vivax, may
have a prolonged incubation period of 8 to 10 months.
· When infection occurs by blood transfusion, the incubation period
depends on the number of parasites transferred but is usually less than
two months.
8. What is the treatment for malaria?
.Three main factors determine treatments:
- The infecting species of Plasmodium parasite
- The clinical situation of the patient
- The drug susceptibility of the infecting parasites
·Mild malaria can be treated with oral medication
·severe malaria requires intravenous drug treatment and fluids in the
hospital.
9. How to prevent malaria.
There are three ways to prevent malaria:
Control mosquitoes.
To conduct a good vector control.
Keep mosquitoes from biting.
Wear long pants and shirts with long sleeves.
Wear mosquitoes repellent and use mosquito net.
Take Malaria to keep getting sick after a bite.
Reduces the the way of contract malaria, but it does not
always work.
