QUESTION My sister has been suffering from fever from past 22 days temperature varying from 102-106 with chills shivering, headache, body pain,nausea and muscle ache but tested negative for malaria. She also tested negative for dengue, swine flu, hiv, and many others. So out of frustration we gave her mefloc 250 and she seems to be responding. She is still having fever that is after 12 hrs of … [Read more...]
Abdominal Pain in Malaria
QUESTION What is the cause of abdominal pain in malaria? ANSWER Often, abdominal pain in malaria occurs in the early stages of malaria infection (first week or so) and can be caused by the rapid enlargement of the liver and spleen as they become inflamed. During malaria infection, and particularly that with Plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly and severe form of malaria, large numbers … [Read more...]
Bio-larvicides
QUESTION Why is there no mention here of all the work being done on biolarvicides - the low cost solution for malaria control? ANSWER Actually, we had a question a while ago about the ECOWAS program in West Africa, which centers around the use of biolarvicides. A link to that question, and the answer, is provided here: http://malaria.com/questions/ecowas-malaria. The most common form … [Read more...]
Female Mosquitos and Malaria
QUESTION How come only the female mosquitoes can pass malaria? ANSWER Malaria is transmitted among humans by female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. Female mosquitoes need to bite people to get blood, in order to carry out egg production. These blood meals are the link between the human and the mosquito hosts in the parasite life cycle. Only female mosquitoes feed on blood, thus males … [Read more...]
Side Effects of Chloroquine
QUESTION After taking chloroquine injection ( which works for me) I am having occassional bitter taste and severe nasal congestion, please what would you advise I take? ANSWER I am not sure why you are taking chloroquine injections. Chloroquine, taken orally, can be used as a preventive drug (except in Asia where there is choroquine resistance to plasmodium falciparum) and also for … [Read more...]
Falciparum Long-term Outcomes
QUESTION My husband was admitted to ICU for 22% falciparum parasite load (with some mild kidney and liver failure, as well as low blood pressure) after being overseas two weeks earlier. They treated him with IV artesunate and oral Malarone and an exchange transfusion, and discharged him after a week, as his kidneys had improved and so had his blood pressure, and he wasn't yellow anymore. He … [Read more...]
Favism (G6PD Deficiency) and Malaria
QUESTION My son has Favism (G6PD deficient). He is going to stay for 2 years in Chad (malaria-endemic country). It is contraindicated for him to take antimalarial drugs. What can we do if he gets a malaria infection? One physician said that he can use Artelum (Artemether + Lumefantrine) for protection. Is it a right prescription? ANSWER Yes, you are correct that Primaquine (which along … [Read more...]
After Effects of Malaria
QUESTION If I had malaria about a month ago is it normal to still get nauseous on a daily basis and often even vomit? ANSWER It sometimes takes a few days or even a couple of weeks to fully recover from the infection, since it takes quite a toll on the body’s immune system. Also, the medication you take to treat malaria can also have side effects, such as nausea and headaches, which … [Read more...]
Precautions to Prevent Malaria
QUESTION What precautions can be taken to prevent malaria? ANSWER This is a common question. Communities can try to control or eliminate mosquitoes (who when infected with the malaria parasite can bite humans and transmit the disease) by spraying with insecticide, using biological agents, or draining mosquito breeding areas. These methods are called vector control. On a personal level, … [Read more...]
Malaria Deaths in Africa
QUESTION How many humans die of malaria in Africa? ANSWER According to the World Health Organization's Roll Back Malaria programme (Roll Back Malaria - Key Facts), 665,000 people died from malaria globally in 2010, with 91% or 596,000 people dying in Africa alone. Eighty-six (86%) of deaths were in children under five years of age. … [Read more...]