The Prevalence Of Manifestations Of Falciparum Malaria Essay

Malaria is one of the most significant infectious disease burdens worldwide. The disease especially targets the most vulnerable groups, namely infants and children, and accounts for approximately 20% of childhood deaths in Africa. Many people living in countries where malaria is endemic are unable to afford, or do not have access to, medications needed for treatment, which contributes to high morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, malaria has a devastating economic impact, with gross domestic products decreasing up to 1.3% in highly affected countries. The World Health Organization concluded through their research that malaria is the fifth biggest killer in sub-Saharan Africa.

The symptoms vary because patients are diagnosed with having either uncomplicated or severe malaria. This is due to the fact that different kinds of malaria range in severity. For instance, ,P. falciparum and P. knowlesi infections can cause rapidly progressive severe illness and lead to death death while the other species, P. malariae, P. vivax, or P. ovale are less likely to cause such severe manifestations. Furthermore, P. vivax and P. ovale infections also require treatment for the hypnozoite forms that remain dormant in the liver and can cause a relapsing infection. Finally, P. falciparum and P. vivax species have varying drug resistance patterns in different geographic regions. For P. falciparum and P. knowlesi infections, the urgent initiation of appropriate therapy is especially

Cerebral malaria is characterized by swelling of the brain, which is a result of parasite-filled red blood cells blocking small blood vessels to the brain. A much higher mortality rate is associated with cerebral malaria than common malaria, but not every case of Plasmodium falciparum leads to a breach of the blood-brain barrier, and consequently, cerebral malaria. Children five years and lower are far more susceptible to contracting cerebral malaria, with an annual figure of roughly 575,000 cases occurring in children. Source

Symptoms of malaria includes headache, fatigue, muscle aches, and abdominal discomfort followed by fever. Sometimes malaria may also cause diarrhea, anemia, nausea, vomiting, enlarged lever and jaundice. Failure to prompt treatment might cause mental confusion, kidney failure and death. Hypoglycameia and severe anemia is quite common in children. In pregnant women, malaria leads to intrauterine growth retardation, low birth weight, and indirect mortality from abortion, as well as increases infant mortality.

The incubation period between the bite of the mosquito is fourteen days. Falciparum malaria has an incubation period of around eighteen days and the malaria infection has a 6 week incubation period. Symptoms of malaria can begin as early as sixteen to eighteen days after a bite by an infected mosquito. They include: High fever (up to 105 degrees Fahrenheit) with shaking chills, profuse sweating when the fever suddenly drops fatigue, headache, muscle aches, abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, feeling faint when you stand up or sit up quickly. If treatment is delayed, more severe complications of malaria can occur such as brain tissue injury, which can cause extreme sleepiness, delirium, unconsciousness, convulsions and coma, pulmonary edema, which is a dangerous accumulation of fluid inside the lungs that interferes with breathing, kidney failure, and severe anemia, resulting from the destruction of infected red blood cells and decrease in the production of new red blood cells (WHO,

These symptoms include; fever, fatigue, vomiting, headaches. In some severe cases malaria has been known to cause yellowing of skin, learning disabilities, seizures, coma, and even death.

According to the health and environment, Malaria is a universal contagious disease and also a tremendous social complication all around the world, especially in South Asia, and Africa. Approximately, 3 billion of the community are in danger of infection in 109 regions. Every year, there is a prediction of 250 million compacts of miasm prominent to 1 million annihilations, particularly adolescents under 5 years old. The structure that causes the greatest unhealthy form of paludism is a imperceptible parasite that is known as the “Plasmodium falciparum”.

Malaria is an important disease threatening people around the world, existing in all six World Health Organization (WHO) regions (World Health Organization [WHO], 2014). Relatively, the other distribution of this disease covering more than 100 countries in the tropical and subtropical climate region (Cullen & Arguin, 2014). According to WHO (2014), in 2013 there were at least 198 million cases of malaria that occurred globally around the world (estimate range between 124-283 million cases). Additionally, the disease lead to the high rate of death, the uncertainty range was between 367,000-755,000, and the average was about 584,000 deaths in 2013 (WHO, 2014). The estimated 90% of all the deaths caused by malaria are found in the Africa Region, and compared to the other regions, Africa is the highest risk region for malaria (WHO, 2014). WHO (2014) reported, among people of all ages, children under age 5 constitute the largest population of malaria mortalities, having 78% of all deaths. Pregnant women are also the most affected by malaria, for about 20% of low birthweight babies, stillbirth and maternal deaths are present due to malaria infections during pregnancy in endemic areas (WHO, 2014).

Malaria is a tropical disease transmitted through Anopheles mosquitos that carry the Plasmodium parasite. This disease exists as a public health problem because when bitten by an infected mosquito, the Plasmodium parasite can cause serious illness that, if left untreated, may lead to death. This is a health threat that affects approximately 212 million people and leads to the deaths of 429,000 people annually [2]. There are four major kinds of Malaria parasites that affects humans; Plasmodium Falciparum, P.Vivax, P.ovale, and P Malariae [2]. The most dangerous of the four, Plasmodium Falciparum, causes red blood cells to become

Malaria is one of the “most severe public health problems worldwide” (Impact of Malaria, 2014). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), half of

The main cause of Malaria is Plasmodium falciparum or plasmodium vivax, which is carry by the female Anopheles mosquito. As the female Anopheles mosquito bits on the human to take blood meal, the Plasmodium falciparum gets injected to the blood stream via mosquito’s saliva and travels through blood stream and eventually gets to the liver. In liver the Plasmodium falciparum being to multiply asexually. Next they start rupturing liver cells and release back to the blood stream. In the blood the parasite being to invade and multiply again inside the red blood cells. This time they start to reproduce sexually within the blood stream. This occurs until the red blood cells burst and releasing the parasite once again into the blood stream. Bursting of the red blood cells lead to acute anemia. This cycle happens over and over again and each time cause Chile, fever sweating. Rupturing the red blood cells and high temperature fever will eventually lead to death. Next the uninfected female Anopheles mosquito bites on the infected human and by sucking its

Although there have been many years of research and planned measurements to control the outbreak of malaria, the realization of a malaria-free world remains an ongoing battle. The widespread of this disease continues to expand to different origins in the world. “An estimated two billion people (more than 40% of the world population) live in areas with malaria risk (MFI).” “The global annual incidence ranges between three to five hundred million clinical cases, with a death toll of between two to three million (Okenu).” “Malaria accounts for 10% of Africa’s disease burden, causing the greatest suffering and impoverishment among poor people, with pregnant women and children under five years of age, being the most vulnerable (Okenu).” This

Malaria gets its name from “mal aria,” meaning bad air, because patients used to blame the sudden illness on the poor air quality of the nearby swamps. Scientists now know that malaria is a parasitic infection caused by a single-celled protozoan, Plasmodium. Of the four types of this parasite, Plasmodium falciparum is recognized as the most

Malaria is caused by parasite, thus anti-biotic will not have effects on them. Infected mosquitoes spread it (Mayo Clinic). It can also be spread from mother to children through blood. However having a malaria-infected person nearby will not cause the disease to spread (WebMD). Malaria remains a prevalent health issue in the tropical area (WHO). In 2015, there are 214 million malaria cases reported, and the mortality rate is 60% (WHO). Typical symptoms of malaria include fever, sweats, headache, nausea and vomiting, and body aches (CDC). Malaria can also develop serious symptoms such as anemia, coma, seizures, metabolic acidosis and kidney failure (CDC). Those severe malaria symptoms usually lead to death. Below is the geographical distribution of malaria.

Malaria Diagnosis of blood slides collected for malaria were examined at the government laboratory and “cross checked to ensure that the correct diagnosis has been made”. [8][Figure 3]