What is the Best Cure For Malaria Disease?
Malaria is an infectious disease but the infection spreads with a mosquito bite. It is a serious problem as it could lead to death.
What is Malaria?
Medical sciences define malaria as a disease from a bite of an infected mosquito. It develops chills followed by a high fever and muscular pain. But the symptoms could develop in cycles. Malaria is a serious problem as it could affect the heart, lungs, kidneys, and brain. It could even become fatal. But the good thing is that it can be controlled with quick diagnosis and treatment.
What Causes Malaria?
A mosquito infected with parasites transfers the parasites into the human body through its bite. It is the Anopheles mosquito, and it is the only type of mosquito that is capable of transferring parasites into the human body. But the mosquito gets malaria parasites by biting in an infected person.
According to the malaria research center, the Anopheles mosquito sucks the blood of an infected person and gets parasites in its body. The mosquito becomes infected with those parasites. This infected mosquito injects its teeth into a healthy person and transmits the parasites in that person. A healthy person develops malaria after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
What are the Symptoms of Malaria?
Malaria symptoms are similar to flu-like symptoms, but those that get the disease many times could have few or no symptoms at all. Also, the severity of the symptoms depends on factors like your age, overall health, and the kind of parasites one is infected with.
Common Malaria Symptoms
· Chills followed by high fever
· Headache, sweats, and nausea
· Fatigue, body aches, and sick feeling
In severe cases, the symptoms could lead to impaired functions of the spinal cord or brain, seizures, or loss of consciousness. In extreme cases, the disease could prove to be deadly. The appearance of symptoms also depends on the incubation period of the parasites, and it could be from 7 to 30 days. But sometimes symptoms appear up to a year, according to the National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR).
What are the Different Types of Malaria Parasites?
NIMR has categorized malaria parasites into five different categories
· Plasmodium falciparum
· Plasmodium malariae
· Plasmodium vivax
· Plasmodium ovale
· Plasmodium knowlesi
Out of the five malaria types, it is Plasmodium falciparum that is potentially life-threatening. It could lead to kidney or liver failure or send a patient in a coma. Plasmodium vivax and ovale parasites can remain dormant in the liver for many months and become active after months or even years.
How is Malaria Diagnosed?
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), patients with malaria-like symptoms are asked to undergo a blood smear test that diagnoses the presence of the parasite in the blood. Infected blood is placed on a glass slide and checked with a microscope to see parasites and their volume. Sometimes parasites aren’t shown in the first test hence more tests are conducted every 12 to 24 hours for the correct diagnosis.
How Is Malaria Treated?
Malaria is treated with medicines prescribed after a detailed physical exam and blood tests. Selection of a specific medicine is made on the following factors:
· Patient’s conditions like age, health, and pregnancy
· The severity of the symptoms
· Drug resistance of malaria parasites
· Side effects of the medicine
Age and overall health of a patient are the most important factors in choosing medicine for malaria. Women expecting pregnancy, children, old people, and those suffering from multiple ailments are provided special care. Sometimes, a patient requires a blood transfusion. People going to areas where malaria parasites are found are given medicines to take during malaria symptoms. Science and technology in India are working in the direction of making a malaria-free society.
Malaria Prevention
Prevention is the best cure for malaria. People are advised to prevent mosquito bites with the help of protection like wearing full clothes and applying insect repellant.
Protection Against Malaria Disease
· Apply an insect repellant with 0–35% percent N, N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET)
· Cover fully body when going outdoors
· Cover your bed with a mosquito net when sleeping in a non-air-conditioned room
· Lace your clothes with a repellant
· Spray pyrethrin or a similar insecticide in the bedroom
Technology innovation in India has made it possible to identify the right malaria type and start treatment. But the battle against malaria can only be won by taking precautions like preventing mosquito breeding, covering the full body to prevent mosquito bites, and taking medicines before visiting places where malaria parasites are found in plenty.
