QUESTION: What information can you provide on this vaccine candidate? ANSWER: RTS,S is a vaccine candidate against Plasmodium falciparum malaria which works by encouraging the host's body to produce antibodies and T cells which diminish the malaria parasite's ability to survive and reproduce in the liver. Produced by GlaxoSmithKline, RTS,S is the first vaccine candidate against … [Read more...]
What can I do to help?
QUESTION: What is there I can do to help them? ANSWER: Thank you for your concern! Probably the easiest and most direct way you can support the people suffering from malaria infections, especially in the developing world, is by helping to spread awareness about the impact of the disease and how it affects millions of people worldwide. To help with these campaigns, you can also donate … [Read more...]
How does malaria enter the body?
QUESTION: What is the portal of entry for malaria? ANSWER: Malaria enters its human hosts via the bite of mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. The malaria parasites are present in the mosquitoes saliva, and enter into the human bloodstream when the mosquito bites to take a blood meal. Once in the human body, the malaria parasite then undergoes a number of different life stages, … [Read more...]
Malaria and Economics
QUESTION: Why is malaria the most important cause of economic distress? ANSWER: While malaria is clearly a huge burden on many aspects of society, including economies, in many parts of the world, I'm not sure it's fair to say that it's the leading cause of economic distress. However, it certainly contributes to slow economic progress, through mechanisms related to the "poverty trap" … [Read more...]
Malaria Infection Possibilities?
QUESTION: How can malaria affect somebody if you far from mosquitoes? ANSWER: It is extremely unlikely for you to become infected with malaria unless you are bitten by an infected mosquito. In rare caces, there have been reports of people contracting malaria through blood transfusions, but in most places, blood donors with a history of malaria are not allowed to donate whole blood, and … [Read more...]
ARCEVA for malaria
QUESTION: Is ARCEVA a good vaccine for malaria? ANSWER: ARCEVA isn't a vaccine for malaria, but it is a brand name of one type of medication used to treat the disease. It belongs to the group of drugs called artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), which are recommended by the World Health Organisation to treat uncomplicated malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, the most … [Read more...]
Symptoms of Malaria
QUESTION: SYMPTOMS OF MALARIA? ANSWER: The symptoms of malaria include fever and flu-like illness, including shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur. Malaria may cause anemia and jaundice (yellow coloring of the skin and eyes) because of the loss of red blood cells. Infection with one type of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, if … [Read more...]
BT and MT Malaria
QUESTION: What is MT and BT malaria? ANSWER: "MT" stands for "malignant tertian" and "BT" stands for "benign tertian" malaria. Tertian malaria describes fever which occurs every other day, in cycles. Of the main types of human malaria, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale are the most stereotypically tertian. P. falciparum can be tertian, but it is more erratic and due to its severity, … [Read more...]
Discovery of Mosquito Causing Malaria
QUESTION: Who found that malaria was caused by a mosquito? ANSWER: The man who first discovered that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes was a British Army doctor called Ronald Ross. Working in India in 1897-1898, Ross demonstrated how malaria parasites could be transmitted first between a patient and a mosquito, and then between hosts via mosquitoes (this latter work was done using … [Read more...]
Diagnosed with Malaria in Nigeria
QUESTION: Hi my twin sister is in Nigeria on a 5 month missions trip. She has just been diagnosed with Malaria, they believe she got it a year ago in El Salvador and that it has been dormant in her system, she has week kidneys and has chronic high blood pressure due to childhood illnesses she has had her whole life. She is in the Northern part of Nigeria and the hospitals there are no real … [Read more...]