Malaria

Malaria is also known as Ague fever or Marsh fever or Jungle fever or Roman Fever or Paludism. It is a communicable or infectious disease (i.e. it can be transmitted from an infected person to another healthy person either directly or indirectly). It transmits from infected person to another healthy person through insect vector, female Anopheles mosquito (i.e. spread by indirect contact). That is, it is a mosquito - borne infectious disease. The incubation period for malaria depends on the following factors; Person's age, Overall health (i.e. immunity), Type of pathogens species  causing the disease. And it can approximately vary from 7 to 30 days or more. 

This disease is caused by various species of the parasitic protozoan micro-organisms called Plasmodium. Its life cycle is digenetic (i.e. organism completes its life cycle in a two host organism), because it requires an intermediate host.

There are four species of Plasmodium, as; Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium falciparum. Based on the species, there are four types of malaria, which affects most of the population of India. Only Plasmodium falciparum causes serious illness, while others are rarely fatal.

Signs and symptoms :

Few signs and symptoms of malaria vary from person to person. Signs and symptoms include;

1. Periodic pyrexia (i.e. fever),

2. Headache,

3. Mental confusion (i.e. difficulty in concentrating),

4. Chills or Shivering (i.e. feelings of coldness),

5. Nausea,

6. Vomiting,

7. Coughing,

8. Fatigue (i.e. feeling of tiredness or lack of energy),

9. Malaise (i.e. a general feeling of discomfort),

10. Excess sweating or Night sweats,

11. Muscle or body pain (or  weakness),

12. Chest or abdominal pain,

13. Constipation or Diarrhoea (i.e. Loose and watery stool), 

14. Arthralgia (i.e. joint pain), 

15. Anemia due to rupturing of RBCs,

16. Anorexia (i.e. loss of appetite),

17. Convulsions (i.e. body muscles contract and relax rapidly and resulting in uncontrolled actions of the body),

18. Increase in heart rate indirectly increasing blood pressure,

19. Haemoglobinuria, 

20. Hepatomegaly (i.e. liver enlargement),

21. Retinal damage, and 

22. Cerebral malaria (brain infection), etc.

Mode of transmission :

Mode of transmission of malaria (i.e. sporozoites) or life cycle of sporozoites is as follows;

image credit: https://figshare.com/

Diagnosis and Treatment :

Malaria is diagnosed either by; Rapid Diagnostic Test (Based on nucleic acid amplification techniques), or Microscopy (Based on study of blood smear). 

Malaria is treated with prescription drugs to kill or weaken the parasite. The types of drugs and the length of treatment will vary, depending on the following factors; Which type of malarial parasite you have, The severity of your symptoms, Your age, Your overall health (i.e. Immunity), and Whether you're pregnant, etc.

The current WHO-recommended first-line treatment for the majority of malaria cases is Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). WHO has recommended 5 different ACTs which includes various combinations of; Artesunate, Sulfadoxine, and Pyrimethamine, etc. In addition, Quinine is also used.

Prevention and Control :

It is practically impossible to completely prevent the spread of malaria. But the best protection from mosquito-borne diseases is preventing mosquito bites indoors and outdoors, especially from sunrise to sunset when mosquitoes are most active. To prevent mosquito bites, following measures include;

1. Use mosquito repellent,

2. Wearing long-sleeved shirts and long trousers,

3. Sleeping or resting in screened or air-conditioned rooms, 

4. Use mosquito nets, and

5. Keep your surrounding clean by removing all the wastes and cleaning the standing water, etc.