QUESTION Can one get malaria through contact with the infected person or is it airborne? ANSWER Malaria cannot be transmitted through direct contact with an infected person, nor is it airborne! It is actually transmitted directly via the bite of an infected mosquito. Only certain female mosquitoes, of the genus Anopheles, can carry malaria. The mosquito picks up the malaria parasite … [Read more...]
Malaria Infection
QUESTION How can you get infected with malaria? ANSWER Malaria is transmitted directly via the bite of an infected mosquito. Only certain female mosquitoes, of the genus Anopheles, can carry malaria. The mosquito picks up the malaria parasite (there are five different types of malaria that infect humans, though all are transmitted in exactly the same way) when it feeds on the blood of an … [Read more...]
Malaria Detection
QUESTION what's the newest form of malaria detection? ANSWER While the traditional form of malaria detection has been through microscopy of a blood film slide, two new technologies have recently emerged. The first is the use of reagent strips, which are impregnated with molecules that bind to various other proteins present in the blood during a malaria infection. These reagent strips are … [Read more...]
Malaria in Australia and Bali
QUESTION Is Australia, Bali or Tasmania in the malaria affected area? ANSWER While malaria used to be endemic in parts of Australia (not Tasmania—it is too cold), the country was declared to be free of malaria transmission in 1981. However, several hundred cases are reported in Australia every year, mainly brought back by travellers returning from other regions, such as south-east … [Read more...]
Malaria in Haiti
QUESTION I just recently returned from Senegal, 60 days ago, in which I had taken Malaria medicine; Chloroquine. I am heading to Haiti in 5 days, and wondering if I am in need of taking Malaria medicine again, or was the time frame close enough that it would be fine to go without. ANSWER You are only protected against malaria while you are taking the anti-malarial prophylactic medicine. … [Read more...]
Insecticide Treated Bednets (ITNs) Research
QUESTION I want to know about the treated bed net, because I want research about the ITNs. So please help me find some reasearch papers. ANSWER There are a wealth of scientific studies on ITNs. I will list a few here, which in turn will lead you to many others through their cited references. I am purposefully mostly mentioning papers published in open access journals, since many others … [Read more...]
Fever and Body Aches with Malaria
QUESTION Is bad throat and fever with with body ache the symptom of malaria? ANSWER While fever and body aches are certainly some of the symptoms associated with malaria, a sore throat is well common, but could be the result of enlarged lymph nodes. It is important to note that these symptoms are also present with many other diseases; in fact, the symptoms of malaria are so general that … [Read more...]
Tested Positive for Malaria
QUESTION I was found with malaria 0.25% positive in my test report..... will this make to reject my application from a Malaysian university? ANSWER Malaria is an infection with a parasite of the genus Plasmodium; all types are very treatable, and so even if you have tested positive, you can easily get medication which will allow you to recover fully from the disease. While some … [Read more...]
How many types of malaria are there?
QUESTION How many types of malaria are there? ANSWER There are four species of malaria parasite that commonly infect humans. These are: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae. In addition, a fifth species, P. knowlesi, is starting to draw public health attention as an infection in humans in south-east Asia, and particularly Borneo - previously, it was thought to only … [Read more...]
Malaria in Africa
QUESTION What percent of Africa has malaria? ANSWER That is very difficult to measure, but maps of malaria transmission potential show that malaria is potentially present across most of the continent, excluding the heart of the Sahara and Kalahari deserts, and the highlands of Ethiopia, Lesotho and Uganda/Rwanda. Other parts of the continent, such as the coastline of North Africa (along … [Read more...]