Question:Is malaria a bloodborne pathogen?Answer:Yes. Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite of the genus Plasmodium (there are five species which infect humans, being Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi), introduced into the human blood stream through the bite of an infected anopheles mosquito. To learn more about how the malaria parasite … [Read more...]
Antimalarial Drugs During pPregnancy
QUESTIONWhat is the safest antimalarial drug to be used by a pregnant woman in her second trimester?ANSWERWith 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...]
Malaria Prophylaxis for Indonesia
QUESTIONI have been working a 4-week rotation between the USA and East Kalimantan (Borneo) for about 2 years. While on Borneo, I am in the jungle much of the time. I have never contracted malaria. I am embarrassed to say I thought I had been inoculated for malaria when I first started working here. I just spent 10 days in a hospital last month fighting a blood degenerating viral infection not … [Read more...]
Duration of Malaria Symptoms
QUESTIONIf untreated how long will a person suffer symptoms caused by Malaria?ANSWERThe answer to that depends a lot on what type of malaria they have as well as their own immune status, and particularly if they have been infected with malaria before. So, for example, P. falciparum is the most severe and deadly kind of malaria, and without treatment, many people who do not have … [Read more...]
New Malaria Parasites
QUESTIONI heard researchers have found a new malaria parasite—what is the name?ANSWERNew malaria parasites are found quite regularly—the parasite that causes malaria, Plasmodium, actually infects birds, reptiles, rodents and non-human primates like monkeys and apes as well as humans. As such, non-human forms of malaria are discovered relatively frequently in other species. … [Read more...]
Malaria Parasite
QUESTIONWhich parasite transmits malaria?ANSWERMalaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bite of an infected mosquito. The parasite passes into the blood of the human patient when the mosquito bites, via its saliva. There are five species of Plasmodium which normally infect humans: P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, P. vivax and P. knowlesi. … [Read more...]
Malaria with Liver and Kidney Problems
QUESTIONCan someone please tell me what kind of malaria this is. What part of the body it attacks, e.g., cerebral? Patient presenting with liver and kidney "problems". What could these be?ANSWERI am not sure I fully understand your question, but the type of malaria which is associated with cerebral malaria, and also tends to have the most adverse effects on other organs (such as the … [Read more...]
Classification of Malaria
QUESTIONClassification of malariaANSWERMalaria is caused by a single celled protist of the genus Plasmodium. This genus is part of a Phylum of single-celled protist organisms called Apicomplexa.The Apicomplexans mostly posses an organ called an apicoplast, which is part of an apical structure designed to aid entry into a host cell. The Apicomplexa is split into two Classes, of … [Read more...]
What is Malaria?
QUESTIONwhat is malaria?ANSWERMalaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite, of the genus Plasmodium, that infects a certain type of mosquito (of the genus Anopheles) which feeds on humans. People who get malaria are typically very sick with high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like illness. Four kinds of malaria parasites can infect humans: Plasmodium … [Read more...]
What is malaria and when was it discovered?
QUESTIONWhat is malaria and when was it diagnosed?ANSWERMalaria is a disease caused by a single-celled parasite of the genus Plasmodium. Five types of malaria infect humans: P. falciparum, P. ovale, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. knowlesi. It was first observed in the blood of a patient who had died of malaria in 1880 by Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, a French physician working in … [Read more...]