Today is World Malaria Day and we will start by telling you what is malaria and some additional information about it.
Malaria is a mosquito borne infectious disease.
- Most cases of malaria occur in tropical Africa (West and Central Africa).
- Transmission also occurs in other tropical and subtropical regions such as Asia (e.g., India, Thailand, Indonesia), and Latin America (e.g., Brazil, Colombia)
- Each year nearly 290 million people are infected with malaria, and more than 400,000 people die of the disease.
It is caused by bite of Female Anopheles Mosquito. It is researched that people with Sickle cell anemia have partial resistance to this disease.
Symptoms of Malaria
It starts with incubation period of minimum of seven days; if fever occurs before the seventh day following exposure in an endemic region, it is most likely not due to malaria.
- Headache
- High Fever (It can be Intervally or irregular).
- Thrombocytopenia (low platelet count): this leads to disorder of clotting
- Hemolytic Anemia: due to low level of red blood cells, people with Malaria have weakness, dizziness, paleness
- In severe condition, it can affect our systemic organs like the Liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly: swelling of liver and spleen),Kidney (acute kidney injury), Cardiopulmonary defects.
How to check for Malaria:
- Visit your nearest hospital or clinic for a blood test
Treatment
- Use of Antimalarial Drugs like Chloroquine (Also known as Chingamin), Primaquine, Doxycycline, Mefloquine etc.
Prevention of Malaria
- Main prevention is Use of Mosquito Net. This is being shared for free in most hospitals
- Use of Antimalarial drugs when traveling to regions with high risks of malaria.