by Malaria Q&A
QUESTION
Can a mosquito give you malaria after having being on an infected person’s feces?
ANSWER
No. Malaria can only be transmitted via blood. As such, transmission via mosquitoes occurs when a mosquito feeds on the blood of an infected person, then bites someone who is not infected, and transfers the malaria parasite in the bite (this cannot happen straight away – the malaria parasite has to undergo some changes in the mosquito first).
by Malaria Q&A
QUESTION
If someone were to eat/ingest the blood of an infected individual would they become infected with malaria? If an infected person’s blood was on their hands and they handled food, would eating the food put others at risk for malaria?
ANSWER
No, you would not get infected with malaria, as the malaria parasites must be transmitted into a person’s blood directly in order for them to be infected. As such, most transmission only occurs via mosquitoes: when a mosquito bites a person infected with malaria, it may pick up some of the malaria parasites while it feeds on the person’s blood. When it then goes to bite another person, after the parasite has replicated and changed inside the mosquito, it can pass the malaria on to the next person, again when it bites them and drinks the person’s blood.
Additionally, in some cases malaria can be transmitted by blood transfusion or organ donation, or from a mother to her unborn baby via the placenta, or through blood passed in childbirth. If you ate/drank malaria-infected blood, the parasites would be broken down and destroyed by your stomach acid.
by Malaria Q&A
QUESTION
I am travelling from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh city via Haalong Bay, Hue and Hoi An, all are Costal areas. Should I take Malarone? I would prefer not to as I am trying to get pregnant.
ANSWER
In Vietnam, costal areas north of Nha Trang are considered malaria-free, as are the cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city. As such, it is only rural and costal areas closer to Ho Chi Minh city where you might be at risk. One option you have is to take mefloquine (Lariam) – it is safe to take while pregnant (or trying to get pregnant), and is effective in most areas of Vietnam. There is resistance to mefloquine in the Mekong Delta region, but it doesn’t sound like you will be travelling there, so this shouldn’t be a problem.
by Malaria Q&A
QUESTION
Can malaria cause vomiting when a smell of petrol is inhaled?
ANSWER
One of the symptoms of malaria is nausea, and vomiting can also occur, but it would not necessarily be linked to certain smells. The most characteristic symptom malaria is a high fever, often also accompanied by periods of chills. See more malaria symptoms here.
by Malaria Q&A
QUESTION
What should I take in this condition? After treatment I came to know that Rechocin should be taken for 6 months 2 weekly.
ANSWER
I am not sure I understand your question, but if you have been diagnosed with trophozoites of Plasmodium vivax in your blood, then you can be treated with normal anti-malarials (the World Health Organization recommends artemisinin-based combination therapies for first line treatment of uncomplicated malaria, but depending where you are, you might even just be able to take chloroquine), as these kill the blood stages of malaria. To prevent relapse, caused by hypnozoites dormant in the liver, you should talk to your doctor about the possibility of also taking a course of primaquine, which usually lasts 14 days. This drug is not suitable for people with G6DP deficiency, however, so you may need a test for this condition before you can take the treatment.
by Malaria Q&A
QUESTION
Can a severe malaria cause blister to form on a penis or no after a very high fever.
ANSWER
No. Although malaria is characterized by high fever, it won’t cause skin blisters on the genitals. This would more likely be caused by a sexually transmitted infection, and should be seen by a doctor if it persists.
by Malaria Q&A
QUESTION
What are the causes of malaria?
ANSWER
Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite of the genus Plasmodium. Five species infect humans: P. vivax, P. falciparum, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi.
Learn more about the causes of malaria.”
by Malaria Q&A
QUESTION
I heard researchers have found a new malaria parasite—what is the name?
ANSWER
New malaria parasites are found quite regularly—the parasite that causes malaria, Plasmodium, actually infects birds, reptiles, rodents and non-human primates like monkeys and apes as well as humans. As such, non-human forms of malaria are discovered relatively frequently in other species. For example, a few years ago, some researchers looked at malaria in apes in Central Africa, and found a new species in gorillas, which is so new it has not even been fully described to science yet, and so remains unnamed! It is thought to be very closely related to Plasmodium falciparum, which is the most dangerous type of malaria in humans. Also recently, two new species were observed in chimpanzees, also in Central Africa, and names P. billcollinsi and P. billbrayi.
Even in humans, new infections are sometimes observed. One which has gained a lot of recent attention is not a new species, but what seems to be increasing numbers of cases of a monkey type of malaria (called P. knowlesi) in humans. It is unclear whether this is due to changes within the parasite, or changes to the landscape which might be creating more favorable conditions for the transmission of this malaria to humans. It is even possible that this malaria has always infected humans, and so this is not a new development, but due to diagnostic issues, it was mistaken for other, human malaria species, such as P. vivax and/or P. malariae.
by Malaria Q&A
QUESTION
My daughter is 24 and in rural Uganda for 4 months. She has been diagnosed with malaria (plasmodium falciparum) and is taking treatment now. Treatment is 3 tablets of Neosidar tablets contain of sulfadoxine BP and of pyrimethamine followed tonight and for the next 3 days by 4 tablets of Lumarten in the morning and at bedtime with milk. Lumarten is a mix of artemether and lumefantrine. Her doctor in Entebbe recommended she should stop taking doxycycline: “the doxy is like a lock on the door, and now someone has broken the lock, so it’s better to treat the malaria as it comes (while still using nets, bug spray, long sleeves, etc. to avoid bites) rather than keep taking the doxy every day.”
Should she stop taking doxycycline and should she be taking the Lumarten with milk? Thank you very much.
ANSWER
I am not personally familiar with Lumarten, but these antimalarials are often taken with food. Of more concern is that she has been given a sulfadoxine-pyramethamine treatment—these are no longer recommended as first line treatment against malaria, and so she should just take the artemisinin-based combination therapy (artemether-lumefantrine is such a combination therapy).
In terms of the doxycycline, I do not understand the doctor’s advice. There is no harm in continuing to take doxycycline after having malaria, and in fact it might prevent re-infection! Of course this depends on how long she is still in Uganda for—the doxy must be taken for four weeks after leaving the malarial area, so if she is returning home soon, she should weigh up the continued preventive benefit against the inconvenience of a long continuation of taking the medication. In general, I don’t like the doctor’s attitude that your daughter should just accept continuing infections with malaria, and “treat them as they come.” It’s much better to use all available methods for prevention. One thing to consider is that dairy products inhibit the uptake of doxycycline, so if your daughter was also taking her doxy with milk (some doctors mistakenly advise this, to prevent stomach upsets when taking the medication), that might have been one reason why she still got infected.
by Malaria Q&A
QUESTION
Does malaria only occur during summer season?
ANSWER
That depends on where you are. The transmission of malaria depends on the presence of the mosquitoes which are required to transmit the disease (they do this when they bite you).
Many kinds of mosquito transmit malaria, though all are of the genus Anopheles. These different species have different climatic requirements, but all lay their eggs in pools of stagnant water, and the larve likewise live in this stagnant water until they develop into adults. As such, malaria is only transmitted when there are suitable pools of standing, stagnant water available for mosquitoes to breed, and also when the temperature is suitable for mosquito development (optimum temperature for mosquitoes is 25-27 degrees C—the malaria parasite develops most rapidly around this temperature as well, though can survive in temperatures about ten degrees cooler as well).
In some regions of the world, this combination of conditions is only met in the summer time, which means that malaria transmission only occurs during this season. In other parts of the world, such as coastal West Africa, conditions are suitable for mosquito breeding and malaria development all year round, which means that malaria transmission occurs throughout the year.