Infectious Disease: Malaria Essay

Malaria is a very contagious parasite transmitted through mosquitoes to humans. Those at risk are individuals living in areas conducive to the breeding of mosquitoes, especially those that allow the mosquitoes to complete their growth cycle. Everyone is at risk

Malaria infection is caused by parasitic protozoan plasmodium. Several species of malaria parasites exist but the most fatal known is plasmodium falciparum. It enters the liver and replicates itself by getting into the red blood cell and ripping its way out when fully matured. It was once thought that the US military got close to completely eradicating the vector mosquito through DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and the parasitic plasmodium with vaccines until they discovered that both are capable of mutating and gained the ability to be resistant to any chemicals scientists could produce (Horizon, 2005).

Unlike most diseases there is no definitive cure for yellow fever. The only remedy is to wait it out until the end and hope for the best. There are some things that can be done to help relieve some of the pain and discomfort. Fluids may be given to the patient to help prevent dehydration. Low blood pressure and low blood sugar are two more of the advanced symptoms that occur in yellow fever victims. Antacids may be used to protect the stomach from bleeding and different medications are used for fever control. Even with good supportive care, yellow fever is still a dangerous disease in which death rates remain high. The most common cause of death in the case of most yellow fever victims is kidney failure.

A small amount of patients recover from the disease and then get even worse symptoms of it. The high fever returns and the liver and kidneys are affected poorly. Bleeding can occur from the mouth, nose, stomach, or eyes. Vomiting can also occur and will be very painful. Those who enter the toxic state of the Yellow Fever disease die within 7-10 days.

Yellow fever is a virus that is usually found in South America and sub-Saharan Africa, where the virus is spread via mosquitoes. Symptoms of yellow fever often are not noticeable until four to six days after infection and vary in severity. The two phases of yellow fever include the acute phase and the toxic phase. In the acute phase, infected persons will experience mild symptoms such as fever and muscle pain. The acute phase lasts three to six days before evolving into the toxic phase. Symptoms of the toxic phase include high fever, bleeding from body orifices, jaundice, vomiting, and abdominal pain, and, eventually, the toxic phase becomes deadly, leading to low blood pressure, organ failure, shock, coma, or even death.

Malaria, on the other hand, was far off more deadly then Yellow fever for it consisted of parasites (Malaria). An engineer once quoted “If we could control malaria, I would be less anxious about other diseases. If we cannot control malaria, our mortality is going to very heavy” (American Canal Construction). Consequently, these infections developed in mosquito salivary glands as well and reproduce in the liver (Malaria). Above all, this incubation period could last for months to a year at a time (Malaria). When the parasites leave the liver they reenter the bloodstream where they are able to infect red blood cells to reproduce once again until the cell bursts (Malaria). As a result, it caused anemia and jaundice from the lack of blood cells (Malaria). Other symptoms include seizures, confusion, coma and death (Malaria).

Yellow fever was carried by mosquitos that had bitten people containing yellow fever. The symptoms of yellow fever consisted of Mild cases cause fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Serious cases may cause fatal heart, liver, and kidney conditions (Mayo clinic).

While the most common way malaria is transmitted is from mosquitoes to humans, there are other ways of catching the disease. One way is from mother to her unborn child. When a disease is contracted this way it is said to have been transmitted congenitally. Another way is during blood transfusions. This is why it is important to be tested for diseases such as malaria before you give blood.

Malaria is spread by the female Anopheles mosquito.When the mosquito bites the malaria parasite is passed into the human bloodstream, infecting them and this works both ways, if a human has previously been given the parasite and a unaffected mosquito bites them, the mosquito will pick up the parasite and spread it further. For the mosquito to survive it the humidity must be high, and the temperature must be between 15°C and below 40°C. Stagnant pools of water allow the mosquito to live. It uses areas like marshes, lakes and river pools to breed. Increasing population growth can encourage people to live closer to affected areas that were previously avoided, such as close to river pools. Normally the

Many studies have come to the conclusion that yellow fever is “A tropical disease affecting the liver and kidneys, causing fever and jaundice and is often fatal.”According to “The deadly fever: Documentary on America’s yellow fever disaster” the disease brings upon a variety of symptoms such as: headaches, high fever, back pains, and just hurting all over along with being sore. This would usually last about 48 to 72 hours, afterwards yellow fever attacks the liver and kidneys, once the liver is destroyed many proteins that your body needs are also destroyed, causing jaundice (yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes) hence where the name yellow fever comes from.

The first symptoms of Yellow Fever can appear like the symptoms of a simple cold. For

Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans. People who get malaria are typically very sick with high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like illness.. In 2015 an estimated 212 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide and 429,000 people died, mostly children in the African Region. Although malaria can be a deadly disease, illness and death from malaria can usually be prevented. In Malawi, malaria is very common because

Also, human population movement from higher transmission areas jeopardizes reintroduction and resurgence in malaria-free regions, and in addition has undermined elimination works in the past. For that reason, it is important to understand the patterns of parasite dispersal in order to target control by pinpointing regions where the imported infections originate from and where they play a part in transmission.

There are two different conditions of Yellow Fever, mild and severe. Mild cases’ symptoms include fever, headache, nausea, back pain, body aches, vomiting, and weakness in the arms, legs, and muscles. More severe cases’ symptoms consist of vomiting blood, bleeding from nose, mouth, and ears, slow heart rate, liver failure, kidney failure, seizures, and comas. A person with Yellow Fever can easily be diagnosed by doctors by the color of their skin. A person with Yellow Fever shows skin that is starting to turn yellow from

The symptoms of yellow fever are varied. The virus has an incubation period of three to six days. The first symptoms will be fever, muscle pain, backache, headache, shivers, and loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting. Frequently a slow pulse accompanies the fever. Most people improve after three to four days, however in 15% of the cases; patients go into a toxic phase within 24 hours. Fever reappears, and they exhibit jaundice and abdominal pain with vomiting. Bleeding occurs from the mouth, eyes, nose and stomach. The kidneys fail to produce urine, and blood appears in the vomit and feces. Half of the patients who experience this toxic phase die in ten to fourteen days. Due to the fact that many of these symptoms are identical to malaria and other diseases native to the areas, yellow fever is difficult to recognize. Blood tests can identify the virus, but may not be easily available to people in poorer developing countries.