Question: Can malaria still be detected after a year? Answer: In most cases, malaria infections are relatively short-lived, lasting only days or maybe a couple of weeks at most, particularly if the patient receives appropriate treatment. In these cases, you would not be able to detect any malaria parasites in the patient's blood after the infection - so certainly not after a year. … [Read more...]
What Body Systems are Affected by Malaria?
Question: What tissues,organs and/or body systems are affected by malaria? Answer: The malaria parasite is transmitted through blood and has an immediate effect on red blood cells. The most common symptoms of malaria including fever, are caused when the parasites invade red blood cells (erythrocytes) and rupture. However, there are five species of the Plasmodium parasite that cause … [Read more...]
Is malaria a blood borne pathogen?
Question: Is malaria a bloodborne pathogen? Answer: Yes. Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite of the genus Plasmodium (there are five species which infect humans, being Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi), introduced into the human blood stream through the bite of an infected anopheles mosquito. To learn more about how the malaria parasite … [Read more...]
How Many Types of Anopheles Mosquitoes Cause Malaria?
Question: How many types of anopheles mosquitoes are there and which cause malaria? Answer: According to CDC, there are approximately 3,500 species of mosquitoes grouped into 41 genera. Human malaria is transmitted only by females of the genus Anopheles. Of the approximately 430 Anopheles species, only 30-40 transmit malaria (i.e., are "vectors") in nature. Read more about Anopheles … [Read more...]
Should I Be Checked for Malaria After Returning from India?
Question: I just arrived home to Canada from India on Saturday evening . During my 3 week stay, I was in Delhi, Agra, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Solan and Shimla. While in Delhi my first week there I must have had about 500 or more mosquito bites on my arms, legs, face, even my back sides etc even though I was using mosquito cream (Odomos I think itw as called) and had a repellent plugged in all the … [Read more...]
Is malaria present in Kruger National Park, South Africa?
QUESTION I am holidaying in South Africa in January. 2014 including a visit to Kruger national park. Do I need anti malarial medication? ANSWER According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), malaria is present in Kruger National Park: Country Name Malaria in Country Drug Resistance Malaria Type Prophylaxis for Areas with Malaria South Africa Present in the northeastern … [Read more...]
Traditional Treatments for Malaria
QUESTION What are some traditional treatments for malaria? ANSWER Many different cultures have had their own traditional ways of treating malaria. Perhaps the two best known come from the native tribes in the Western Amazon basin and the ancient Chinese. Tribes in the Amazon used the bark of a shrub called Cinchona to treat fevers and shivering; Spanish priests in this region observed … [Read more...]
What is the Malaria Parasite?
Question: What is the malaria parasite? Answer: Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite of the genus Plasmodium; there are five species which infect humans, being Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi. All these species are introduced into the human blood stream through the bite of an infected female anopheles mosquito. … [Read more...]
Lasting Effects of Malaria
QUESTION What are the lasting effects of malaria? ANSWER Most people who get malaria and receive the correct treatment in time, usually have no long term affects of malaria infection. However some people who have suffered severe cerebral malaria (from P. falciparum) may experience some longer term neurological effects. There have been reports that up to 25% of young children with … [Read more...]
Pathophysiology of Malaria
QUESTION What is the pathophysiology of malaria? ANSWER Malaria causes disease through a number of pathways, which depend to a certain extent on the species. Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite of the genus Plasmodium; there are five species which infect humans, being Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi. All these species are introduced … [Read more...]