| Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease | | | | determine if you have malaria and, if so, |
| caused by protozoan parasites. It is | | | | which type. |
| widespread in tropical and subtropical | | | | |
| regions, including parts of the Americas, | | | | * These tests sometimes are difficult to |
| Asia, and Africa. Each year, it causes | | | | complete and may have to be repeated or the |
| disease in approximately 650 million people | | | | results sent to another hospital. |
| and kills between one and three million, most | | | | |
| of them young children in Sub-Saharan Africa. | | | | * Doctors also may perform DNA tests. |
| Malaria is commonly associated with poverty, | | | | |
| but is also a cause of poverty and a major | | | | Treatment |
| hindrance to economic development. | | | | |
| | | | A malaria infection, particularly with P. |
| If you're going on holiday or if you're going | | | | falciparum, requires prompt evaluation and |
| to be working in malarial areas most travel | | | | treatment. In most cases, doctors can treat |
| companies and Doctors will advise what sort | | | | malaria effectively with one or more of the |
| of precaution and prevention you will need. | | | | following medications: |
| Some of preventive drugs can have side | | | | |
| affects but it will be certainly worth the | | | | * Chloroquine (Aralen) |
| risk rather than catching Malaria, and the | | | | |
| most frightening thing for most people is | | | | * Quinine sulfate |
| that it can take a week before any Malaria | | | | |
| symptoms can be detected. | | | | * Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) |
| | | | |
| How is malaria transmitted? | | | | * Combination of sulfadoxine and |
| | | | pyrimethamine (Fansidar) |
| As is well known, malaria is transmitted to | | | | |
| people by mosquitos. The scientific name of | | | | * Mefloquine (Lariam) |
| the particular type of mosquito is Anopheles. | | | | |
| An infected Anopheles mosquito bites a person | | | | * Combination of atovaquone and proguanil |
| and injects the malaria parasites into the | | | | (Malarone) |
| blood. The malaria parasites then travel | | | | |
| through the bloodstream to the liver and | | | | * Doxycycline (Doryx, Vibramycin, others) |
| eventually infect the red blood cells. | | | | |
| | | | Prevention |
| Symptoms | | | | |
| | | | Health authorities try to prevent malaria by |
| * Chills | | | | using mosquito-control programs aimed at |
| | | | killing mosquitoes that carry the disease. If |
| * Fever | | | | you travel to an area of the world with a |
| | | | high risk for malaria, you can install window |
| * Sweating | | | | screens, use insect repellents, and place |
| | | | mosquito netting over beds. |
| * Headache | | | | Insecticide-impregnated bed netting has |
| | | | successfully reduced the number of malarial |
| * Nausea | | | | deaths among African children. |
| | | | |
| * Vomiting | | | | One of the major problems is the steady |
| | | | increase in resistance of the infection to |
| * Muscle pain | | | | the drugs used in both prevention and |
| | | | treatment. There's also been some controversy |
| * Anemia | | | | about possible side-effects. Always talk to |
| | | | your doctor if you are worried - don't just |
| Other signs and symptoms include: | | | | stop taking antimalarials without getting |
| | | | medical advice. |
| * Diarrhea | | | | |
| | | | If you do develop symptoms, get help quickly |
| Exams and Tests | | | | - and don't forget to tell the doctor you've |
| | | | travelled to a malarial area. |
| The doctor will perform blood tests to | | | | |