QUESTION I don't like taking drugs, but since the past one month I've been very down with fever. My eyes have changed to yelllow, joint pain, I've severe pains in my ear, I have stomach and abdominal pain, I have seizure undere my feet, sores on my tongue, throat pain, heart burn, and cough. Please are these malaria signs? ANSWER Thanks for your question. Malaria is often tricky because … [Read more...]
Anopheles Mosquitoes and Malaria Transmission
QUESTION How are the Anopheles mosquitoes able to transmit human Malaria and others are not? What makes them different from the other genus of mosquito? ANSWER This is a great question and in fact scientists are not really sure of the answer. The ability of female Anopheles to transmit malaria is a quirk of evolutionary history. Other species of Plasmodium (the Latin genus name of the … [Read more...]
Can Malaria Penetrate the Brain
QUESTION Can malaria penetrate the brain? ANSWER Approximately 1% of people with malaria will develop a severe form, and in these cases the brain can be affected. When the brain is affected, the condition is called cerebral malaria. Functional changes to the blood-brain barrier occur in cerebral malaria, possibly as a result of the binding of parasitized red blood cells to … [Read more...]
How Long for Blood Count to Return to Normal
QUESTION I'm hoping to get some clarity on the following, as I've had a few rather large disparities in the information I've been given. My mother (66) recently had a very serious bout of Malaria and was hospitalised in Johannesburg for just over a week. (Both my Mom and Dad live in Tete, Mozambique) At one stage, she almost needed a blood transfusion as her parasite count was above 10% (12,5% to … [Read more...]
Shelf Life of Malarone
QUESTION I've just finished reading several years' worth of your responses to questions and I'm very impressed. Thank you for being surely one of the best sources on the web. My question pertains to the shelf life of Malarone tablets. My husband and I have been in Madagascar for three weeks now and will stay for another two and a half months. I am very preventive-oriented (long sleeves, pants … [Read more...]
Is it Malaria Relapse?
QUESTION WHILE IN VIETNAM, I HAD VIVAX AND FACIPRIUM MALARIA. THE OLDER I GET I COME DOWN WITH THE CHILLS, FEVER AND PROFUSE SWEATING. BLOOD TEST NEVER DOES SHOW ANY MALARIA BUT DOES SHOW THE VIVAX ANTIBODIES. DOES THIS MEAN I STILL HAVE MALARIA OR HOW LONG DO THE ANTIBODIES REMAIN IN MY BODY AND WHY NO MALARIA CELLS? ANSWER Antibodies to malaria can persist in the body for years after … [Read more...]
Malaria IgG Test
QUESTION My uncle has been ill since returning from Belize, where he was bitten by multiple mosquitoes. He has every symptom of malaria, and did a malaria antibody IgG test, which came back high at 1.49 that was ordered by his primary care physician. He has now been to a hematologist/oncologist and even an infections disease doctor who have both ignored the lab result. He has since done … [Read more...]
Can the PCR blood test identify hypnozoites?
QUESTION I have never been diagnosed with malaria but returned from Turkey in 2007 (P. Vivax endemic area; Diarbykar & Mardin areas). My symptoms were consistent with malaria and I have now had 5 relapses since then, averaging one occurrence per year. I now have impaired kidney functioning and I am uncertain if this could be because of undiagnosed malaria? Would the PCR blood test at … [Read more...]
What Cell count defines malaria?
QUESTION What Cell count defines malaria?? ANSWER If you are referring to the cell count for diagnosis, then really the answer is that if ANY malaria parasites are observed in a blood film, then the slide should be considered positive for malaria. Of course, some people can have low levels of parasite in their blood, which are not easily detected under a microscope, using a blood slide. … [Read more...]
Multiple Malaria Infections Each Year
QUESTION My name is Olumide and I live in Nigeria. I have had malaria too frequently and it's giving me a lot of concern. I had one last August 2012 and am having another one this October as I am speaking with you. If I should count it, I'll be having nothing less than 6 occurrences in a year. It's always an headache induced malaria whereby after using the ACT combination recommended by WHO, … [Read more...]