QUESTION What is the safest antimalarial drug to be used by a pregnant woman in her second trimester? ANSWER With regards to treating malaria, intravenous artesunate (or quinine, if artesunate is not available) should be used for the treatment of severe/complicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Signs of severe and/or complicated malaria include impaired consciousness, organ failure, … [Read more...]
Sexual Transmission of Malaria
QUESTION Can malaria be transmitted by having sex with an infected person? ANSWER No. Malaria cannot be transmitted sexually. It is only present in the blood and in certain organs such as the liver and spleen. As such, it is usually only transmitted via the bite of an infected mosquito, though in rare cases, it can be transmitted directly via blood transfusion, organ transplant or via the … [Read more...]
Sexual Intercourse During Malaria Infection
QUESTION Can one have sexual intercourse during malaria infection? Can malaria be transmitted by sexual intercourse? ANSWER Malaria cannot be transmitted by sexual intercourse. It is usually transmitted via the bite of an infected mosquito. Because the parasites infect red blood cells, malaria can also be transmitted via blood transfusion (if the blood is not screened beforehand), … [Read more...]
Malaria In Africa
QUESTION What factors cause Africans to get this disease? ANSWER The highest number of malaria cases every year occur in Africa, not because of anything specifically due to the people living there (in fact, they may be better protected against malaria than most—I will come onto this later) but because malaria transmission is very high in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa and … [Read more...]
Malaria Medicine for Pregnant Women
QUESTION What medicine can be given to a pregnant woman who has malaria? ANSWER The type of anti-malarial that should be given to a pregnant women depends on the type of malaria they have, its severity and how long she has been pregnant. Chloroquine, quinine and artemisinin-derivatives can be given during all trimesters, but in many places malaria is resistant to chloroquine. In … [Read more...]
Malaria Relapse Again and Again
QUESTION Hi, I have malaria, after every 2 to 3 months. I had malaria positive when I was pregnant at 3 mnths I was hospitalized, it was P.vivax, it aggravated my pregnancy symptoms even, I had blood transfusion as Hb was 7, then aftr completion of 10 tab chloroquin course on discharge doctr advice me to take 2 tab chloroquin once a week for my whole pregnancy, I stopd taking drug at my 7 mnth … [Read more...]
Teen Has Anaemia, Mom Had Malaria
QUESTION I am concerned that my 22 yr old daughter has anaemia (tired & sleepy), possibly caused by Malaria (Katima Mulilo, Namibia), which I contracted just before returning to Cape Town. I fell pregnant at that time. I was treated at the local hospital before returning home. Could it have affected the unborn fetus? My daughter has a low red blood count. ANSWER Congenital malaria … [Read more...]