QUESTION: Does one need to have a normal result in G6PD screening before he can take Malarial pills? ANSWER: In some cases, yes. When a patient has been diagnosed with Plasmodium ovale or Plasmodium vivax infection, in addition to medication such as chloroquine to target the blood stages of the parasite, an additional drug, called primaquine, may also be required. Primaquine kills the … [Read more...]
Drugs to Treat Pregnant Woman with Malaria
QUESTION: What are the drugs for a pregnant woman who has malaria for the first to third trimester? ANSWER: The treatment of malaria in pregnant women has become more challenging in recent years, as many types of malaria are developing resistance to the standard arsenal of drugs. In locations where the dominant form of malaria is still chloroquine-sensitive, chloroquine can be used safely … [Read more...]
Diagnosis of malaria or another condition?
QUESTION: Patient is responding to malaria intravenous medicines but the blood test are not showing any strains of malaria parasites. Is it possible it is malaria or some other disease? ANSWER: I'm afraid it is hard to answer this without more information regarding what steps have been taken to diagnose infection, what medication is being given, and what other clinical information is … [Read more...]
Causes of malaria, treatment with drugs and emerging resistance
QUESTION: What is malaria and what causes it besides bacteria? What is the name of the causal agent for malaria, which drug is used to cure it and how do the pathogens become resistant to the drugs? ANSWER: There are many questions in there! Malaria is actually caused by a single-celled animal, called a protozoan; it's not a bacterial disease. There are different species of these … [Read more...]
In which country did malaria start?
QUESTION: In which country did malaria start? ANSWER: That's an interesting question! In terms of the evolution of the disease, the different types of malaria probably evolved in different places; it is hypothesised for example, that P. falciparum evolved from a related strain of malaria that is found in gorillas in central Africa, so the human form also probably originates from that … [Read more...]
Does malaria spread from a person to another?
QUESTION: Can malaria spread from one person to another? ANSWER: Usually, no. In most cases, the malaria parasite has to first pass from a human host into a mosquito as the mosquito takes a blood meal, and then from the mosquito into another human via the mosquito's saliva. This severely limits the amount of person-to-person transmission that exists. In fact, the only mechanisms for … [Read more...]
Médecins Sans Frontières Calls for Switch from Quinine to Artesunate
After the revision of World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines yesterday, international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) calls for a drug proven to reduce deaths in children suffering from severe malaria to be immediately rolled out in African countries. In its new report, entitled "Making the Switch," Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) … [Read more...]
Malaria Prevention
Malaria prevention consists of a combination of mosquito avoidance measures and chemoprophylaxis. Although very efficacious, none of the recommended interventions are 100% effective. Mosquito Avoidance Measures Because of the nocturnal feeding habits of Anopheles mosquitoes, malaria transmission occurs primarily between dusk and dawn. Contact with mosquitoes can be reduced by … [Read more...]
Malaria Treatment
Malaria can be a severe, potentially fatal disease (especially when caused by Plasmodium falciparum) and treatment should be initiated as soon as possible. Patients who have severe P. falciparum malaria or who cannot take oral medications should be given the treatment by continuous intravenous infusion. Most drugs used in treatment are active against the parasite forms in the blood (the form … [Read more...]