MALARIA : DEFINITION,LIFE CYCLE, SYMPTOMS, CAUSES AND MORE

OVERVIEW

Malaria is kind of infectious disease which is caused by a sporozoan parasite of genus Plasmodium. It is a life – threatening disease and can be deadly as well if not treated at the correct time.

This infectious disease is usually spread and transmitted by the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. When this mosquito bites an infected person the parasite goes into the mosquito and then when this infected mosquito bites a healthy person the disease is transmitted into that healthy person from the infected mosquito.

This disease is very common in the tropical and subtropical regions that is in continents like Asia, Africa, etc. but it is very uncommon in regions having temperate climate.

As malaria is a common infectious disease in some regions, there are various treatments and preventive measures that are developed in such regions. Various preventive drugs and partially effective vaccines are also available. Though the disease is deadly and life – threatening, but it can be cured if diagnosed and treated at the right stage.

LIFE CYCLE OF MALARIAL PARASITE PLASMODIUM

• The malarial parasite genus Plasmodium, is a single celled organism and it has two hosts
• The primary host of the malarial parasite is Anopheles mosquito and the secondary host is human.
• This life cycle of malaria starts when an infected Anopheles mosquito bites a healthy person and injects the parasite Plasmodium into the person’s blood stream in sporozoite form along with its saliva
• After being injected into the person’s blood stream, the parasites within 30 minutes of being injected go to the liver for further process
• In the liver the asexual type of reproduction takes place and the sporozoites convert themselves into merozoites
• These merozoites stay in the liver itself for up to 10 days
• The merozoites after 10 days of staying in liver, go to the erythrocytes, that is Red Blood Cells (RBCs) in the blood stream and then their further replication takes place in the red blood cells itself
• After almost 48 hours of staying up in the red blood cells and multiplying there, the parasite Plasmodium multiplies so much that it causes the red blood cells to burst up and due to the bursting of red blood cells, all the merozoites that are produced after replication and multiplication are released in the blood stream and this in return infects up more red blood cells
• After up to 10 days of being in the blood stream, these merozoites that are released convert themselves into gametocytes. From here the asexual phase ends and the sexual phase of the parasite Plasmodium begins
• Now when any other mosquito ( female Anopheles mosquito) bites this infected person, it takes up these gametocytes along with the blood when it sucks blood from the infected person.
• When these gametocytes reach the gut of the female Anopheles mosquito, there they convert themselves into mature gametes.
• After converting into mature gametes from immature gametocytes, the male and female gametes fuse with each other in the gut of the mosquito itself
• As the male and female gamete fuse together during sexual reproduction, this results in the production of a mobile ookinete
• Now this ookinete that is produced as a result of sexual reproduction, goes to one other side of the stomach wall of the mosquito
• Here on the other side of the mosquito wall, the ookinete gives rise to an oocyst and this newly formed oocyst contains thousands of new sporozoites form
• After about a week or almost 5 to 7 days, these oocyst release the sporozoites that they contain and these released sporozoites migrate themselves into the salivary gland of the mosquito
• Now as the female Anopheles mosquito bites any next person, these sporozoites will be transferred in that healthy person along with the mosquito’s saliva and the cycle goes on

 

SYMPTOMS OF MALARIA

Malaria is a very common disease, especially in India. The signs and symptoms of the disease depend at which stage of the disease an infected person is at. The most common symptom of malaria is fever and night chills. Some more common symptoms of this infectious disease are listed below :

• High temperature fever
• Night chills that may get very severe
• A general feeling of discomfort
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Diarrhea
• Muscle ache
• Joint pain
• Abdominal pain
• Rapid heart rate
• Rapid breathing
• Slight cough
• Various convulsions
• Bloody stools

 

CAUSES OF MALARIA

The most common and the main cause of malaria is a bite by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The female Anopheles mosquito acts as a vector for the transmission of this disease. If a person has a weak immune system due to any reason or either due to infection by HIV / AIDS, then also the person is most prone to this disease. This infectious disease is mainly transmitted through blood. Some other common ways that can cause and eventually lead to this infectious disease are listed below :

• A blood transfusion
• An organ transplant
• Use of shared or common needles or syringes
• From pregnant mother to her unborn child

 

DIAGNOSIS OF MALARIA

The diagnosis of malaria can might be quiet a difficult task, but if a doctor suspects that the person is having malaria, he or she can be prescribes to undergo certain diagnostic test for the diagnostic of the infectious disease. Some of the common and the most used diagnostic tests for the diagnosis of this infectious disease are listed below :

• A Physical examination
• Several blood tests
• Discussing the patient’s travel history
• Clinical diagnostic based on the symptoms
• Microscopic diagnostics
• Antigen detection
• Molecular diagnostics
• Serology
• Various Drug resistance tests
• Malarial vaccine

 

PREVENTION OF MALARIA

Malaria is a very common and infectious disease and there are various ways of treating and preventing this disease. Some of the most common ways of preventing this disease re listed below :

• Avoid mosquito bites
• Use mosquito repellent ointments
• Use mosquito net
• Use antimalarial tablets while travelling to a place where malaria is very common
• Finding out whether you are at risk or not
• DEET insect repellents
• Getting immediate medical advice
• Wearing long pants and full sleeves to cover the skin and to avoid mosquito bites