QUESTION Is malaria a risk in Hong Kong and Southern China? ANSWER There is no reported malaria transmission in Hong Kong, nor in the provinces directly bordering it in southern China. However, there is some risk of malaria in other parts of southern and central China, notably in the provinces of Anhui, Guizhou, Hainan, Henan, Hubei, and Yunnan, though rare cases may also be observed in … [Read more...]
Organizations Against Malaria
QUESTION What is a good organization that helps stop malaria? ANSWER There are many organizations that work very hard to control malaria. The most well known are those that design policies and implement projects to control malaria on the ground, in places where the disease is most deadly. These include multilateral international organizations such as UNICEF and the World Health … [Read more...]
Severe Head Pain with Malaria
QUESTION Can severe head pain be a symptom of mistreated malaria? My son just returned from an 8 month trip to Ghana. He had malaria 3 times and typhoid 1 time. He is now dealing with a severe head pain in his frontal lobe. He took doxycycline every day and when he got really sick, he took Coartem. He was finally sent home because they couldn't figure out why he has such severe head pains. … [Read more...]
Other Causes of Malaria
QUESTION Apart from mosquitoe bites, is there any other thing that can cause malaria or if not from mosquitoes, is there any other way someone can get malaria? ANSWER Since the malaria parasites reside and reproduce in the blood, in some cases it is possible to transmit malaria from person to person through transfer of a large volume of blood, for example during a blood transfusion. … [Read more...]
Malaria Recurrence
QUESTION I had malaria 5 months back it has again reoccurred. this time there has been increase in the size of the spleen. As of now it is being treated but I fear of getting it again. Is it true the malaria which i am down with reoccurs every 6- 8 months ??? Local people call it as registered malaria.. . ANSWER There certainly are types of malaria that can reoccur relatively regularly, … [Read more...]
Long and Short Term Effects of Malaria
QUESTION What are the long term and short term effects of malaria in brief please? ANSWER The symptoms of malaria as an acute infection vary somewhat depending on the type of malaria, but usual signs include high fever (often in a cyclical pattern, with fever one day, then no fever for one or two days, then a recurrence of fever), chills, body aches and nausea. For Plasmodium … [Read more...]
Malaria Vaccine
QUESTION What is the shot you get to prevent malaria? ANSWER There is currently no shot available to prevent malaria. The most promising vaccine candidate, called RTS,S and being developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is currently undergoing Phase III trials in children in Africa. Preliminary results have indicated it may prevent up to 50% of malaria cases, though this varies by age group and … [Read more...]
Malaria Parasites Classification
QUESTION Where are malaria parasites classified? ANSWER The parasite that causes malaria comes from the genus Plasmodium, which is part of a Phylum of single-celled protist organisms called Apicomplexa. The Apicomplexans mostly posses an organ called an apicoplast, which is part of an apical structure designed to aid entry into a host cell. The Apicomplexa is split into two Classes, of … [Read more...]
Discovery of Malaria
QUESTION How was malaria discovered? ANSWER Malaria has long been known to human populations from across the world. In fact, the first mention of the symptoms of malaria comes from an ancient Chinese manuscript from 2700 BCE! However, the actual cause and mechanism of transmission of the disease was only discovered in the 19th century. It was Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, a French … [Read more...]
Vaccine for malaria? Differences with yellow fever?
QUESTION Is there a vaccine to prevent malaria? What is the difference between yellow fever and malaria? ANSWER In answer to your first question, no, there is not currently a vaccine available to prevent malaria. The best current candidate, the RTS,S vaccine which was developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is currently undergoing Phase III clinical trials in Africa. Although preliminary results … [Read more...]