Tested Positive for Malaria

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QUESTION

I was found with malaria 0.25% positive in my test report….. will this make to reject my application from a Malaysian university?

ANSWER

Malaria is an infection with a parasite of the genus Plasmodium; all types are very treatable, and so even if you have tested positive, you can easily get medication which will allow you to recover fully from the disease. While some  universities require a health test, since malaria is completely treatable, a positive test for this disease should not stop you from being admitted to the university. However, you should get treated as soon as possible; ask your doctor what kind of medication is most appropriate for the type of malaria you have.

How many types of malaria are there?

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QUESTION

How many types of malaria are there?

ANSWER

There are four species of malaria parasite that commonly infect humans. These are: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae. In addition, a fifth species, P. knowlesi, is starting to draw public health attention as an infection in humans in south-east Asia, and particularly Borneo – previously, it was thought to only infect macaque monkeys.

Apart from these five species, there are many other species of Plasmodium, which infect other primates (including gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans), rodents, birds and reptiles. A closely related group of parasites, called Hepatocystis, infects monkeys, squirrels, hippopotamus and bats.

Malaria in Africa

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QUESTION

What percent of Africa has malaria?

ANSWER

That is very difficult to measure, but maps of malaria transmission potential show that malaria is potentially present across most of the continent, excluding the heart of the Sahara and Kalahari deserts, and the highlands of Ethiopia, Lesotho and Uganda/Rwanda. Other parts of the continent, such as the coastline of North Africa (along the Mediterranean) and much of South Africa and Zimbabwe likely only experiences seasonal transmission of malaria, with some parts of the year too cold and/or dry to support transmission. The below map shows the distribution of malaria throughout Africa, and should give you some idea of the percentage landcover that is affected.

Distribution of endemic malaria

Distribution of endemic malaria in Africa. Picture courtesy of http://siteresources.worldbank.org/NEWS/Images/malaria-map.jpg

Treatment of Malaria in India

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QUESTION

In India how to treat a child and adult suffering from malaria?

ANSWER

Chloroquine-resistant malaria has been observed in India and so the first line drug of choice should be an artemisinin-derivative in combination with another drug (this group of medications are more generally known as “artemisinin-based combination therapies” or ACTs). A common example of this is artemether in combination with lumefantrine, which is marketed as Coartem. Coartem is also used to treat malaria in children over 11 pounds (5 kg) in weight.

Joint Pain and Malaria

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QUESTION

Could an onset of joint pain and swelling plus hurting all over be a residual for someone who has had malaria?

ANSWER

Once someone has been treated for malaria, they should not experience any further residual effects, particularly if the infection was uncomplicated and treated using oral medication. Joint pain, swelling and pain could well be indications of another infection, and so medical advice should be sought immediately.

Spleen Enlargement with Malaria

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QUESTION

Will malaria present without splenic enlargement?

ANSWER

Splenomegaly is commonly one of the early and consistent signs of malaria, with the spleen being palpable sometimes as early as the first paroxysm but usually becoming noticeable after the first week of illness. However, absence of splenic enlargement does not eliminate malaria as the cause of illness, and a blood test should be used to confirm diagnosis.

What is a Malaria Parasite?

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QUESTION

What is a malaria parasite?

ANSWER

A malaria parasite is a single-celled protozoan of the genus Plasmodium. These parasites have a complex life-cycle, which involves sexual reproduction in a mosquito vector, plus cycles of asexual reproduction and multiplication in a human host (or other animal – other primates, rodents, birds and reptiles can also be infected with Plasmodium parasites). A diagram of the life cycle is below, courtesy of CDC.

 

Child Has Recurring Malaria

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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 doctor can prescribe appropriate treatment. This is particularly important for young children, as they are most susceptible to severe malaria. You should also try to find out what type of malaria she had/has. Repeated attacks of malaria can occur three ways. The first is re-infection – the first infection was cured by the medication, but then your daughter was exposed to malaria again, through the bite of an infected mosquito. Preventative measures, such as making sure she sleeps under a long-lasting insecticide treated bednet, can help reduce the risk of re-infection. Secondly, it could be what is called “recrudescence” – this is when the treatment brings the number of parasites in the blood below detectable levels, and low enough so that symptoms subside.

However, once the treatment course stops, the parasite is able to replicate in the blood again, and symptoms return. This is rare if the full, proper course of medication is taken – in most circumstances, Coartem (artemether plus lumefantrine) should be the first line of treatment and it is very effective against preventing recrudescence. Finally, there is relapse. This only occurs with two species of malaria: Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale. In this case, the parasite is cleared from the blood by the treatment, but some parasites escape by laying dormant in the liver. These can then reactivate weeks, months or even years after the initial infection. Normal malaria medication can be given to treat relapses of infection, but an additional drug, called primaquine, should also be given, to kill the remaining dormant liver stages. Your doctor should be able to tell you whether he would recommend this drug for your child – they should also be tested for G6DP deficiency prior to taking the drug.

First Cases of Malaria

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QUESTION

When was malaria first detected?

ANSWER

Humans have known about malaria as a disease for thousands of years. The earliest written record of malaria is from ancient China, 2700 BCE. The ancient Romans and Greeks also described the symptoms of malaria, though none of these ancient people knew the true cause or had identified specifically how it was transmitted. This was first achieved in the 19th century, first in 1880 by Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, who observed the parasites that cause malaria in the blood of a patient. A few years later, in 1897/1898, Ronald Ross discovered that the parasites were transmitted between hosts via mosquitoes, thus laying the foundations for future decades of malaria control efforts.

Malaria Outbreaks

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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 this, despite no major and obvious “outbreaks” malaria has probably killed more people in history than any other disease.

Outbreaks of malaria do occur in places where malaria is not usually found, though these are usually small and isolated. For example, while Jamaica was previously malaria free, an outbreak in 2006/2007 resulted in 370 cases. By the end of 2007, it had been declared malaria-free once more, as transmission was interrupted. In 2002, a man with Plasmodium vivax caused an outbreak among 10 fellow campers at a camp site in Northern Queensland, Australia. In the US in 2008, almost a thousand cases of malaria were reported, though most of those were imported cases from travellers who had recently returned from malaria endemic areas, and therefore did not get infected within the US.