World Malaria Day
The plasmodium parasite is what causes the acute febrile illness known as malaria. An infected female Anopheles mosquito bite is how the parasite enters human bodies. A mosquito will only bite a person with malaria once. contracts the disease. There are five different varieties of these microscopic parasites that cause malaria in humans, but only two of them—Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax—can be fatal.
Given that malaria is a treatable and curable disease, early detection is essential. If treatment is delayed, it can result in serious health issues like seizures, breathing difficulties, brain damage, numerous organ failures, and occasionally even death. So, if you experience any malarial symptoms, call your doctor right away.
The signs of malaria
The first signs of malaria often occur 10 to 15 days following the mosquito bite. Depending on the type of parasite implicated and the individual, symptoms may differ. For up to a few months after the mosquito bite, some people do not experience any symptoms. The malarial parasite can live for many years in our bodies without causing any symptoms. Malaria symptoms are :-
comparable to flu symptoms. As follows:
1.Fever: excessive nighttime sweating
2.Shivering and chills
3.Muscle aches and headaches
4.Fatigue and lethargy
5.Chest pain, a cough, and occasionally breathing issues
Nausea, vomiting, and stomach discomfort are examples of gastrointestinal symptoms.
Some malaria sufferers experience cycles of illness that begin with shivering and chills, progress to a high fever, produce sweating, and then return to a normal body temperature. These attacks continue until the patient’s body is free of all malarial parasites.
Malaria can also manifest in various ways besides these typical symptoms, such as:
1.Low platelet or WBC count
2.Malaria sufferers have a reduction in blood sugar as well.
3.Malaria-related kidney problems are brought on by an immunological response and hemodynamic dysfunction. The patient may have decreased urine flow and Coca-Cola-colored urine.
4.Jaundice
5.Anemia
6.Joint rigidity
Rarely, cerebral malaria. The patient may also experience unconsciousness, confusion, convulsions, and fever.
The origin of malaria
As is well known, a parasite-carrying mosquito bite is the primary cause of malaria. People can contract malaria by coming into contact with blood that has been contaminated by the plasmodium parasite in a number of ways, including:
pregnant women and their unborn children through the transfer of contaminated blood.
How can malaria be avoided?
A recent global malaria report states that children under the age of five have a greater fatality risk from malaria. Diseases can be dramatically reduced by taking preventative steps.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has improved the accessibility of malaria prevention tools and tactics over the past few decades in an effort to reduce the disease’s global causes. Some of the precautions include:
Vector control is a key component of any malaria prevention plan and a highly effective means of eradicating the illness when it is present. It features:
Sleep beneath bed netting sprayed with insecticide.
Using indoor residual spraying (IRS), a skin-safe registered with the Environmental Protection Agency insect repellent to get rid of mosquitoes inside
Preventative drugs: These medications guard against malarial infection and lessen the possibility of negative outcomes. It contains:
- Seasonal chemoprevention of malaria
- Drug administration in large doses
- Infants receiving intermittent preventative treatment (IPTi)
- Pregnant women who receive intermittent preventive treatment (IPTp)
Immunization
The WHO advised that children living in areas with moderate to high P. falciparum vector densities receive the RTS, S/AS01 malaria vaccine by 2021. This vaccine significantly lowers childhood malaria and its effects.
Worldwide campaigns to stop the spread of parasite species and the transmission of malarial parasites are supported by WHO and the Global Malaria Program.
WHO places a strong emphasis on using innovation to fight malaria and save millions of lives. There isn’t a single strategy that can lessen the risk posed by this deadly illness. Combining treatment and preventive approaches lessens the serious effects of malaria in order to stop malaria and its terrible aftereffects; WHO is mobilizing investments and innovations to introduce new techniques to control vectors, diagnostics, and anti-malarial medications.
On this World Malaria Day, let’s make an effort to partake in the early detection and treatment of malaria to reduce the spread of the disease.