Malaria

What is Malaria?

Malaria (marsh fever, periodic fever) is a parasitic disease that involves infection of the red blood cells (RBCs).

How do you get Malaria?

• Malaria is transmitted to people by a particular type of mosquito called Anopheles, which is found mainly in tropical and sub-tropical areas.
  
  
• An infected Anopheles mosquito bites a person and injects the malaria parasites (microscopic organisms) into the blood.
  
  
• The malaria parasites then travel through the bloodstream to the liver and eventually infect the red blood cells (RBCs), destroying them and releasing more parasites to attack further RBCs.
  
  
• In some forms of the disease, the parasites have a dormant form in the liver which can give rise to characteristic relapses of malaria

How serious is Malaria?

• There are four types of malaria - the most serious type is falciparum malaria, which can be life-threatening.
  
  
• The other three types of malaria (vivax, malariae, and ovale) are generally a little less serious and are not immediately life-threatening.

How long does Malaria last?

• The symptoms characteristic of malaria include fever, chills, muscle aches, and headache.
  
  
• Cycles of chills, fever, and sweating typically recur every 1, 2 or 3 days if the infection is not treated.
  
  
• There can sometimes be vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing and yellowing (jaundice) of the skin and the whites of the eyes.

How is Malaria treated?

• Treatment for malaria depends upon the geographic area where a person has been infected with the disease because different areas of the world have malaria types that are resistant to certain medications.
  
  
• Drug treatment for malaria typically lasts for 7 days.

Prevention of Malarial infection:

• Prevention is better than cure! It is important to take sensible precautions against mosquito bites and to take medicines which will stop you catching malaria.
  
  
• It is very important to take medicines that reduce your risk of catching malaria (sometimes called prophylactics) if you are going to visit a country that is infected with this disease.
  
  
• The sort of prophylactic medicine that you need also depends on the country that you are visiting.
  
  
• You will need to take your medicine for:
  • A number of days before you go into the country/area of malarial risk
  • All the time you are there
  • A period of time when you return

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