Malaria and Weight Loss

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QUESTION

Can malaria make you lose weight? Can malaria cause itching in the body.

ANSWER

Since malaria is often associated with extreme nausea and high fever, this can often cause people to lose their appetite and not eat properly while they are experiencing infection, leading to weight loss.

However malaria is usually quite an acute infection, lasting a few days to at most a few weeks (there are exceptions, whereby patients have been observed to be chronically infected for much longer periods of time, though they rarely experience frequent symptoms during these longer periods and as such would not be expected to lose weight), and so the period of time in which weight loss would occur is very short. Itching is not a symptoms commonly associated with malaria, though muscle aches and pains are common.

Massage Therapy and Malaria

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QUESTION

What massage therapy has helped with malaria and what effects did it have on the patient?

ANSWER

As far as I am aware, massage therapy has never been shown to have any positive effects on malaria infection. If a patient has malaria, they must receive medical treatment, either in the form of oral tablets or if the disease has already progressed to a severe state, intravenous drugs.

Malaria Parasite

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QUESTION

Which parasite transmits malaria?

ANSWER

Malaria 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. 

Malaria Statistics for Past Ten Years

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What are the key statistics for global malaria over the past decade?

ANSWER
The World Health Organization’s World Malaria Report summarizes global malaria burden, including trends in mortality rates and economic impact. Here are selected figures from the 2011 report.

Estimated malaria cases, 2010

  • Globally: 216 million
  • Africa: 174 million
  • Americas: 1 million
  • Eastern Mediterranean: 10 million
  • Europe: 200
  • South-East Asia: 28 million
  • Western Pacific: 2 million

Estimated deaths from malaria, 2010

  • Globally: 655 000
  • Africa: 596 000
  • Americas: 1 000
  • Eastern Mediterranean: 15 000
  • Europe: 0
  • South-East Asia: 38 000
  • Western Pacific: 5 000

Figures on malaria deaths

  • 91% of deaths were in Africa
  • 86% of deaths were in children under 5 years of age

Population at risk

  • 3.3 billion (half of the world population)

Number of countries affected by malaria

  • 106

Six countries account for 60%, or 390,000, of malaria deaths

  • Nigeria
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Burkina Faso
  • Mozambique
  • Cote d’Ivoire
  • Mali

Malaria mortality rates have fallen since 2000

  • Globally: by more than 25%
  • Africa: by 33 %
  • Americas: by 55 %
  • Europe: by 99 %
  • Western Pacific: by 42 %
  • Between 2000 and 2010 out of 99 countries with ongoing malaria transmission 43 countries recorded decreases of more than 50% in the number of malaria cases
  • another 8 countries recorded decreases of more than 25%

Required health expenditure (Abuja declaration)

  • 15% of national budget

Economic cost

  • Direct: USD 12 billion per year in direct losses,
  • lost 1.3% of GDP growth per year for Africa.

Costs of interventions

  • Long-lasting insecticidal net that lasts three years: US$ 1.39 per person per year of protection
  • Course of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for an adult: US$ 0.90 – 1.40
  • Course of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for a young child: US$ 0.30 – 0.40
  • Rapid diagnostic test: US$ 0.50

Check out Roll Back Malaria for more information.

Malaria with Liver and Kidney Problems

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QUESTION

Can 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?

ANSWER

I 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 kidneys) is Plasmodium falciparum. However, all species of malaria go through the liver as part of their life cycle, so all may invoke some kidney problems. The four other types of malaria which infect humans are P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P.knowlesi.

Malaria in Myanmar (Burma)

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QUESTION

Is Malaria an issue in Myanmar where I am going in June?

ANSWER from Malaria.com Editor

YES. Malaria is a risk in all rural areas of the country below 1,000 meters of altitude (anything below 3300 feet). Rangoon/Yangon and Mandalay do not have malaria.

You should take medication to prevent malaria (prophylaxis) throughout your stay, and also protect yourself from getting bitten by mosquitoes if you are travelling to risk areas for malaria. Personal protection measures including sleeping under an insecticide treated bednet, wearing insect repellent and wearing long-sleeved clothing, especially in the evenings, early morning and throughout the night, which is when the mosquitoes that transmit malaria are active and feeding.

Myanmar/Burma is known to have strains of malaria which are resistant to certain medications; specifically, chloroquine resistance is widespread, while some areas in addition have malaria which is resistant to mefloquine (sold as Lariam). As such, the CDC recommends atovaquone-proguanil (sold as Malarone) or doxycycline if you will be travelling in the provinces of Bago, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Shan, and Tanintharyi. In all other areas of the country, mefloquine should also be considered as an option.

Answer from Malaria.com medical advisor

For anyone planning a trip abroad its important to know the health risks in your destination. Malaria is an especially important concern for anyone traveling to tropical or subtropical regions. Here’s what I found on the CDC Travelers’ Health website. I find this is the best place to look for this information.

  • Areas of Burma with Malaria: Rural areas throughout the country at altitudes
  • If you will be visiting an area of Burma with malaria, you will need to discuss with your doctor the best ways for you to avoid getting sick with malaria. Ways to prevent malaria include the following:
  • Taking a prescription antimalarial drug.
  • Using insect repellent and wearing long pants and sleeves to prevent mosquito bites. Sleeping in air-conditioned or well-screened rooms or using bednets.
  • Some areas of Burma have resistance to certain antimalarial drugs.

See the malaria information for Burma to find out which antimalarial drug is appropriate for the area you plan to visit in Burma.

Discovery of Malaria

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QUESTION

Who was the discoverer of malaria?

ANSWER

Malaria has been known to humans since ancient times, though what exactly caused it and how it was transmitted was not known. The parasite which causes malaria, from the genus Plasmodium, was first observed in the blood of a patient who had died from the disease by Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, a French physician working in Algeria. This was in 1880; a few years later, in 1897-1898, a British army doctor called Ronald Ross showed that malaria could be transmitted via the bite of a mosquito. Both doctors eventually received the Nobel Prize for their discoveries.

Life Cycle of Malaria

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QUESTION

What is the life cycle of malaria?

ANSWER

Malaria is caused by a single celled organism in the genus Plasmodium. Five species of Plasmodium infect humans, but all follow a very similar life cycle, including two separate cycles of asexual reproduction in the human host (one in the liver, called the exo-erythrocytic cycle, and one in the blood, and specifically inside red blood cells, known as the erythrocytic cycle) and a sexual reproductive stage inside the mosquito definitive host (usually called the “vector”). A schematic of the full life cycle is below, courtesy of the CDC (www.cdc.gov).

You may also view a video of malaria life cycle.

malaria life cycle CDC

Schematic of the malaria life cycle, courtesy of CDC (www.cdc.gov)

Structure and Size of Malaria Mosquito

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QUESTION

What is the structure and size of the mosquito?

ANSWER

The mosquitoes that transmit human malaria belong to the genus Anopheles. As such, they follow the general body plan structure of a flying insect—three segments (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings. Anopheles females have modified mouthparts that allow them to feed on blood, by inserting a specialized proboscis into the skin; male Anopheles feed on nectar and so do not possess the same type of mouthparts.

The size of the adult mosquito varies on factors such as the exact species, the larval environment and food availability, but the length of the body is rarely greater than 16mm and the total weight is usually less than 2.5 milligrams.

Is Malaria Incurable?

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QUESTION

is malaria incurable?

ANSWER

No. Malaria can usually be very easily treated, if diagnosed early and if appropriate medication is given promptly.

The World Health Organization recommends artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) as the first line treatment against uncomplicated malaria; intravenous quinine is usually the first-line recommended treatment for severe, complicated malaria.