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Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite. It is the world's number one parasitic killer affecting some 2 million people every year and in areas of rural Africa, one in twenty children under the age of five are killed by this parasitic infection.
There are four kinds of malaria that can infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae.
Incidence; Causes & Development
Malaria occurs in over 100 countries and territories, and more than 40% of the people in the world are at risk. Large areas of Central and South America, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania are considered malaria-risk areas.
The World Health Organization estimates that yearly some 300-500 million cases of malaria occur and more than 1 million of those affected die. About 1,200 cases of malaria are diagnosed in the United States each year. Most cases in the United States occur amongst immigrants and travelers returning from malaria-risk areas, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
Humans get malaria from the bite of a malaria-infected mosquito. When a mosquito bites an infected person, it ingests microscopic malaria parasites found in the person's blood. The malaria parasite must grow in the mosquito for a week or more before infection can be passed to another person. If, after a week, the mosquito then bites another person, the parasites go from the mosquito's mouth into the person's blood. The parasites then travel to the person's liver, enter the liver's cells, grow and multiply. During this time when the parasites are in the liver, the person has not yet felt sick.
The parasites leave the liver and enter red blood cells; this may take as little as 8 days or as many as several months. Once inside the red blood cells, the parasites grow and multiply. The red blood cells burst, freeing the parasites to attack other red blood cells. Toxins from the parasite are also released into the blood, making the person feel sick. If a mosquito bites this person while the parasites are in his or her blood, it will ingest the tiny parasites. After a week or more, the mosquito can infect another person.
Incubation Period
For most people, symptoms begin 10 days to 4 weeks after infection, although a person may feel ill as early as 8 days or up to 1 year later. Two kinds of malaria, P. vivax and P. ovale, can relapse; some parasites can rest in the liver for several months up to 4 years after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito . When these parasites come out of hibernation and begin invading red blood cells, the person will become sick.
Diagnosis & Tests
Malaria is diagnosed by looking for the parasites in a drop of blood. Blood will be put onto a microscope slide and stained so that the parasites will be visible under a microscope.
Treatment & Prevention
Infection with one type of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, if not promptly treated, may cause kidney failure, seizures, mental confusion, coma, and death.
How can malaria be prevented?- Visit your health care provider 4-6 weeks before foreign travel for any necessary vaccinations and a prescription for an antimalarial drug.
- Take your antimalarial drug exactly on schedule without missing doses.
- Prevent mosquito and other insect bites. Use DEET insect repellent on exposed skin and flying insect spray in the room where you sleep.
- Wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts, especially from dusk to dawn. This is the time when mosquitoes that spread malaria bite.
- Sleep under a mosquito bednet that has been dipped in permethrin insecticide if you are not living in screened or air-conditioned housing.
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Signs, symptoms & indicators of Malaria:
Conditions that suggest Malaria:
Risk factors for Malaria: | | | | | Medical Procedures |  Blood transfusions | Each year in the United States, a few cases of malaria result from blood transfusions, are passed from mother to fetus during pregnancy, or are transmitted by locally infected mosquitoes. |
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Personal Background |
Living in the tropics| | Malaria once extended widely throughout the old world, reaching as far north as 64°N latitude and as far south as 32°S latitude. Today, however, malaria is almost exclusively a problem of the geographical tropics. |
(Very) recent visit(s) to the tropics| | Any traveler who becomes ill with a fever or flu-like illness while traveling and up to 1 year after returning home should immediately seek professional medical care. They should tell their health care provider that they have been traveling in a malaria-risk area. |
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Malaria can lead to:
Recommendations and treatments for Malaria: | | | | | Botanical |  Quinghaosu| | Quinghaosu, or artemisinin - also known as sweet wormwood - provides a possible solution to the ever growing problem of salic falicparum - drug resistant malaria. Widely used in China, it is fast and efficient when used to treat people who already have malaria, with no side-effects. |
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Drug |
Conventional Drug Use| | Although resistance is increasing, most types of malaria can still be cured with prescription drugs. The type of drugs and length of treatment depend on which kind of malaria is diagnosed, where the patient was infected, the age of the patient, and how severely ill the patient was at start of treatment. |
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KEY | | Weak or unproven link |  | | Proven definite or direct link | | | Highly recommended |
GLOSSARY
Anemia (Anaemia, Anemias)
A condition resulting from an unusually low number of red blood cells or too little hemoglobin in the red blood cells. The most common type is iron-deficiency anemia in which the red blood cells are reduced in size and number, and hemoglobin levels are low. Clinical symptoms include shortness of breath, lethargy and heart palpitations.
Chronic Renal Failure (Chronic Renal Insufficiency, Kidney Failure, Renal Insufficiency)
(CRF) Irreversible, progressive impaired kidney function. The early stage, when the kidneys no longer function properly but do not yet require dialysis, is known as Chronic Renal Insufficiency (CRI). CRI can be difficult to diagnose, as symptoms are not usually apparent until kidney disease has progressed significantly. Common symptoms include a frequent need to urinate and swelling, as well as possible anemia, fatigue, weakness, headaches and loss of appetite. As the disease progresses, other symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, bad breath and itchy skin may develop as toxic metabolites, normally filtered out of the blood by the kidneys, build up to harmful levels. Over time (up to 10 or 20 years), CRF generally progresses from CRI to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD, also known as Kidney Failure). Patients with ESRD no longer have kidney function adequate to sustain life and require dialysis or kidney transplantation. Without proper treatment, ESRD is fatal.
Diarrhea
Excessive discharge of contents of bowel.
Jaundice
Yellow discoloration of the skin, whites of the eyes and excreta as a result of an excess of the pigment bilirubin in the bloodstream.
Liver (Hepatic)
The largest and one of the most complex organs of the body, the liver is responsible for much of the metabolism of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. It is the site of much of the body's detoxification. It is connected very closely with digestion and the regulation of blood sugar, among many other functions. Found behind the ribs on the right side of the abdomen, it has many important functions such as removing harmful material from the blood, making enzymes and bile that help digest food, and converting food into substances needed for life and growth. Hepatic: Pertaining to the liver.
Nausea
Symptoms resulting from an inclination to vomit.
Parasite (Parasites, Parasitic, Parasitical)
An organism living in or on another organism.
Red Blood Cell (Erythrocyte, Erythrocytes, RBC, Red Blood Cells)
Any of the hemoglobin-containing cells that carry oxygen to the tissues and are responsible for the red color of blood.
Seizure (Seizures)
While there are over 40 types of seizure, most are classed as either partial seizures which occur when the excessive electrical activity in the brain is limited to one area or generalized seizures which occur when the excessive electrical activity in the brain encompasses the entire organ. Although there is a wide range of signs, they mainly include such things as falling to the ground; muscle stiffening; jerking and twitching; loss of consciousness; an empty stare; rapid chewing/blinking/breathing. Usually lasting from between a couple of seconds and several minutes, recovery may be immediate or take up to several days.
Tropics (Tropical)
The region of the earth's surface lying between 23°27 North of the equator and 23°27 South of the equator.
Last updated: Jun 22, 2008
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