Malaria

  • What causes malaria?

    • caused by a single celled parasite called Plasmodium

    • Four types of Plasmodium:

      • Plasmodium Falciparum

        • 50% of malaria in the world

        • responsible for most deaths

      • Plasmodium Vivax

        • widespread, temperate areas, North Africa, Americas

        • 43%

      • Plasmodium Malariae

        • rare, localized

      • Plasmodium Ovale

        • very rare

  • Costs for Malaria control and lost workdays:

    • 1~5% of the continent’s GDP

  • Where Malaria is common the average lifespan is 30 years old. but this is heavily skewed by children dying from the disease

  • Has a two-host life cycle

    • Mosquitoes in the genus Anopheles are the vector hosts

  • Acute Symptoms:

    • cold stage: chills and shaking

    • hot stage: fever, headache, vomiting, seizures in children

    • sweating stage: weakness

    • Feel well for period of time, then cycle repeats

  • Each disease has a distinct course

    • Tertian Malaria

      • fever occurs every other or every third day

    • Quartan Malaria

      • Every fourth day

  • What is happening in the human

    • Parasite in red blood cells

      • When RBC erupts

        • parasite in blood stream

        • pigment from parasite

        • hemoglobin from RBC

        • metabolic byproducts of parasite

        • all of these are toxic

      • 200 parasites of cc of blood on average

    • Cardinal symptom of malaria is paraxysm:

      • 1st chill (violent) even when the surrounding temperature is stable

        • lasts about 1 hour

      • then comes fever

        • as high as 106 typically but can be higher, headaches, nausue, vomiting etc.

      • profuse sweating

      • repeat cycle

    • Relapse can occur after a primary attack, usually within 5 years but can be longer

    • Malaria damages the body in a number of ways

      • red blood cell destruction → anemia

      • waves of parasites bursting red blood cells and that impacts the oxygen supply

      • kidney failure

    • Insecticide-treated nets have been the most effective thing for reducing malaria cases

  • Personal Protection:

    • insecticide-impregnated materials

    • house screening

    • repellents

    • fumigants

  • drugs don’t prevent infection they prevent the disease from establishing itself in your body