QUESTION My two year old daughter was affected by malaria 9 months back we took proper course and also the follow up course of 6 weeks. After 2 months post 6 weeks she was infected again by malaria and now again she is getting fever and fear this could be malaria again. ANSWER If you suspect she might have malaria again it is important you go and get her tested immediately, as then the … [Read more...]
Malaria Outbreaks
QUESTION What is the largest outbreak in the world from malaria? ANSWER Most parts of the world don't suffer from malaria "outbreaks" in the traditional sense of the world. Instead, malaria is "endemic," which means that transmission is on-going all of the time. In some cases, transmission is seasonal, but each year's level of disease incidence is similar to the next year's. Having said … [Read more...]
Who Discovered Malaria?
QUESTION Who discovered malaria? ANSWER People have known about malaria for thousands of years—the first record of it comes from 2700 BCE, in an ancient Chinese medical text. Other ancient peoples, such as the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, also knew the symptoms associated with malaria. But it wasn't until the 19th century that the causes of malaria were understood. In 1880, a … [Read more...]
Long term health effects of malaria when young?
QUESTION I'm trying to find out if having malaria at a young age can have long term effects on health. Around 25 years ago when I was 4 years old I contracted malaria when living in central Africa. Unfortunately I do not know the type of malaria, only that I received medication and recovered without complications. Over the last few years I've had a general feeling of poor health and … [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...]
Malaria Cure
QUESTION What is the cure for malaria? ANSWER Malaria can be cured with a number of different medications, depending on then type of malaria and how far the disease has been progressed. For standard, non-complicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria, the World Health Organisation recommends use of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), such as Coartem. This is due to increasing … [Read more...]
Child with Fever – Malaria Symptoms?
QUESTION Three yrs old boy having fever every 20 days for past 5 times. Remains for 2-3 days. Can it be malaria? Never got blood tested. ANSWER Recurrence of malaria every 20 days is not that common, but could be caused by two different events: (1) true relapse, whereby the boy is infected with either Plasmosium vivax or Plasmodium ovale, and the parasite is disappearing from his blood … [Read more...]
Malaria and Seizures
QUESTION Is it possible to contract malaria early in life and have a seizure 20 years later? ANSWER I think it is highly unlikely. There are only two types of malaria that can reoccur long after the initial infection (Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale) and neither of these usually results in seizure or other cerebral effects. Looking through the literature, I can only find one case of … [Read more...]
Recurrent Malaria
QUESTION Malaria has been with me since the late 1980's after 6 years in Malawi. During the 90's I had it twice per year in Feb and Sept. Blood tests always came up negative. Treatment was with Chloroquine, later Halafantrin and then Co Artem. 2 or 3 treatments were required as symptoms appeared 2 weeks after completion of initial treatment. In 2004 I treated with a bodyweight specific dose … [Read more...]
Injections for Malaria Treatment?
QUESTION I have a friend that just told me that she has Malaria. She said she has to go to the hospital every day for an injection for around the next 2 weeks. Is this a typical treatment. Why not just take pills? I`m just trying to wrap my head around this and understand the different treatments. ANSWER This is certainly not typical treatment for malaria. Uncomplicated malaria is usually … [Read more...]