QUESTION How is malaria treated? ANSWER Malaria can be a severe, potentially fatal disease (especially when caused by Plasmodium falciparum) and treatment should be initiated as soon as possible. Patients who have severe P. falciparum malaria or who cannot take oral medications should be given the treatment by continuous intravenous infusion. Most drugs used in treatment are active … [Read more...]
Injections to Get Malaria
QUESTION I was wondering at one time did they give people shots to get malaria and then give them like I.V.S with some kind of medicine it the i.v. to counteract it, I know that some one that had ulcers of the eye and the eye specialist sent her home to her home hospital for i.v.s as he had given her a shot so she would get MALARIA, THIS would have been years ago, I don't understnd the concept … [Read more...]
Feeling Ill After Malaria Infection
QUESTION How soon after infection, will a person usually begin to feel ill? ANSWER There is a latent period, during which time the malaria parasites (which had entered the bloodstream via the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito) migrate to the liver and undergo replication. The sporozoites (the life stage that enters the blood from the mosquito) differentiate in many merozoites, which … [Read more...]
What Food Should I Eat for Malaria
QUESTION What food I eat in malaria? ANSWER If you mean what foods should you eat while you are suffering from malaria, then there are no specific diet specifications. Since many people feel nauseous and sick to their stomach while they are suffering from the disease, it may be hard to get people to eat anything at all - however, it is very important that the patient takes in a lot of … [Read more...]
Curing Malaria
QUESTION What is needed to cure malaria? ANSWER Malaria is usually cured through treatment with an anti-malarial drug. The World Health Organization recommends use of an ACT (artemisinin-based combination therapy, such as Coartem) as first-line treatment for all non-complicated (i.e. not severe) malaria, and especially P. falciparum malaria (which in most places is resistance to … [Read more...]
Malaria in Southern Africa
QUESTION Which areas in southern africa harbour malaria? ANSWER Most of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa does not harbor malaria, either because it is too cold, too dry, or control measures have successfully eliminated transmission. However, malaria transmission is found in virtually all parts of Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique. In addition, pockets of malaria transmission can be … [Read more...]
Vaccine for Malaria
QUESTION Is there a vaccine to prevent malaria? ANSWER 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 showed up to a 50% rate of protection against malaria in some age groups, the trials will not … [Read more...]
Can Child Be Affected by Mother’s Malaria
QUESTION If the baby's mother has malaria, can it affect the child? ANSWER If the mother is pregnant when she gets malaria, particularly if it is her first pregnancy and particularly if she has never had malaria before, the effects on both the mother and child can be very serious. For the mother, this is because her immune system changes when she gets pregnant. This leaves her more … [Read more...]
First Malaria Outbreak
QUESTION When was the first ever outbreak of malaria? ANSWER Malaria has actually been known in human populations for thousands of years, so the first ever outbreak occurred long before any records were kept. The ancient Chinese recorded the symptoms of malaria in a medical manuscript which dates back to 2700 BCE, so almost 5000 years ago! The symptoms of malaria were also known to … [Read more...]
Swelling of Lymph Nodes and Malaria
QUESTION I would like to know if swelling of lymph nodes in neck is any way connect to malaria? ANSWER Swollen lymph nodes are often a sign that the body is trying to fight off an infection, and so swollen lymph nodes are certainly sometimes observed in malaria patients. However, most malaria infections would also be associated with other symptoms, such as fever, chills, nausea and aches. … [Read more...]