Overview:
Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasitic organism called plasmodium. This parasite invades red blood cells in the human body and destroys them.
Incubation period:
The incubation period of the disease ranges from 7 to 30 days.
How do mosquitoes transmit malaria?
Malaria is transmitted to humans most commonly through bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes, called ‘malaria vectors’, which bite mainly between dusk and dawn.
![](/HealthAwareness/EducationalContent/Diseases/Hematology/PublishingImages/2015-04-23-020.jpg)
Other modes of malaria transmission:
Other than mosquito bites, people can also catch malaria from exposure to infected blood, such as in the following cases:
- An infected mother may transmit the disease to her unborn child.
- By getting blood transfusions from an infected person.
- By sharing needles with an infected person.
Symptoms:
Malaria signs and symptoms typically begin within a few weeks to a month after being bitten by an infected mosquito. The disease is generally characterized by recurrent episodes of the following symptoms:
- Fever and chills
- Excessive sweating
- Headache
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
Diagnosis:
- Early diagnosis and treatment services help reduce the severity of the disease and prevent malaria-related deaths. It also lowers malaria transmission rates.
- WHO recommends prompt parasitological confirmation of diagnosis either by microscopy or malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) in all patients with suspected malaria before treatment is administered.
- The results of that test can be available within 15 minutes or less.
- Treatment for malaria should not be initiated based on the symptoms alone if diagnostic tests cannot be conducted to confirm the presence of a parasite.
Treatment:
Worldwide, malaria is treated with a range of medications depending on the type of malaria parasite you have and the location where the disease was contracted; as some of these parasites have developed resistance to certain medications and they can no longer be used.
Malaria medications:
- Chloroquine
- Quinine sulfate
- Hydroxychloroquine
- Mefloquine
- Atovaquone + proguanil
Prevention of malaria:
- Mosquito control.
- Take all possible measures to protect yourself from mosquito bites, such as wearing long-sleeved clothes, covering the legs in places infested with insects, and applying insect repellents to the skin and clothing.
- Make sure to place mesh nets with tiny holes on all windows and doors to prevent insects from coming in.
- Use a mosquito net if you are planning to sleep outside.
- Avoid travelling to areas where malaria is common as much as possible.
- If you can't avoid traveling to malaria-endemic countries or regions, then you should make sure to take preventive medications to protect yourself from the disease. A dosage should be prescribed one or two weeks before your trip , during your stay, and for four weeks after you return.
- Filling ponds or swamps and removing mosquito breeding sites helps prevent and reduce malaria transmission.
Complications:
In most cases, malaria patients develop one or more of the following complications:
- Pulmonary edema, which is fluid accumulation in the lungs that can make it difficult to breathe;
- Liver or kidney failure or a ruptured spleen;
- Anemia;
- Swelling in the brain or brain cell damage, and cerebral malaria can result in a coma.