QUESTION Which drug should be given to a p.vivax malaria patient with deficient glucose 6-phosphate for prevention of relapse? ANSWER Unfortunately, primaquine is the only drug that is known to kill the latent liver stages of P. vivax and P. ovale. Since it can induce haemolysis in people with G6DP deficiency, this drug is usually not recommended for people with this deficiency. However, … [Read more...]
Is Malaria Contagious?
QUESTION Is malaria contagious? ANSWER Malaria cannot be transmitted directly between people via normal circumstances, so it is not contagious in the same way flu or the common cold is contagious. It also cannot be sexually transmitted. In most cases, malaria can only be transmitted via the bite of an infected mosquito, so unless those mosquitoes are present, it cannot be transmitted. … [Read more...]
Recurrent Malaria
QUESTION can malaria represent itself after 50 years? ANSWER There are two types of malaria which can lay dormant for long periods of time, though I don't personally know of more than a handful of cases where the relapse was a matter of decades after the initial infection. These two types are P. vivax and P. ovale, so if you know you were infected with one of these types a number of years … [Read more...]
Malaria Treatments
QUESTION What are the of different types of antimalaria drugs? ANSWER Most drugs used in treatment are active against the parasite forms in the blood (the form that causes disease) and include: chloroquine atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone®) artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem®) artesunate-pyronaridine (Pyramax®) dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (Duo-Cotecxin®) mefloquine … [Read more...]
Treatment and Management of Malaria Parasite
QUESTION What are the treatments and management of malaria? ANSWER Treatment is actually part of the strategy for managing malaria, so I will come back to that later. The other main ways in which malaria is controlled is through prevention, diagnosis (followed by treatment if necessary) and education. 1) Prevention: There are a number of ways to prevent malaria. These can be placed … [Read more...]
Malaria Prevention
QUESTION What is malaria and the preventive measures? ANSWER Malaria is a disease caused by single-celled parasites of the genus Plasmodium. There are currently five species which cause disease in humans, and while each is slightly different, they all act in basically the same way, and cause similar symptoms. Of the five, the most dangerous is Plasmodium falciparum, which can lead to … [Read more...]
Malaria.com Support
QUESTION Who is your sponsoring organization? ANSWER Currently, Malaria.com is being supported by Epicenter Communications, a publisher of books and websites. … [Read more...]
Malaria Prophylaxis in Ghana, Africa
QUESTION My husband will be traveling to Ghana soon. We have Mefloquine and Primaquine. Which one do you think is best for prophylaxis in Ghana? He also has Fansidar, but we understand it's best not to use this for prophylaxis. Thank you for your help! ANSWER There are positives and negatives associated with both of these medications. Mefloquine is recommended for travelers in Ghana … [Read more...]
Persistent Antibodies to Malaria?
QUESTION I had malaria as child, more than 30 years ago. It was successfully treated with no relapse. I have since travelled to malaria- endemic countries, but the last time was over 3 years ago. No symptoms. I recently donated blood and routine screening has detected malaria antibodies. How long do the antibodies persist? ANSWER Based on your experience, I would say at least three years! … [Read more...]
Malaria in the United States, Years Later
QUESTION For years, I have questioned what sickness I got years ago after a series of bug bites in a bayou in New Orleans. I've just read the symptoms described here and they fit everything I was suffering with. I even had problems with my liver, but I was never tested for Malaria because I had immediately left New Orleans for Italy. I never thought of mentioning it. This mysterious illness … [Read more...]