Malaria Symptoms

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QUESTION

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

ANSWER

Symptoms of malaria include fever and flu-like illness, including shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur. Malaria may cause anemia and jaundice (yellow coloring of the skin and eyes) because of the loss of red blood cells. Symptoms usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs. Infection with one type of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, if not promptly treated, may cause kidney failure, seizures, mental confusion, coma, and death. In many parts of the world, the parasites have developed resistance to a number of malaria medicines.

Deadliest Malaria Parasite

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QUESTION

which malarial parasite is deadliest for humans, and why?

ANSWER

By far the most deadly malaria parasite is Plasmodium falciparum, as it is responsible for >95% of all malaria deaths every year. Most of these fatalities occur in young children in sub-Saharan Africa.

The causes for why P. falciparum is so deadly are still not fully understood. This parasite has the ability to cause infected red blood cells to become “sticky”, and therefore clog up small blood vessels called capillaries inside the body’s organs. This process is known as “sequestration”. Sequestration reduces blood flow to major organs, resulting in a variety of secondary conditions, perhaps the most famous well-recognized of which is so-called “cerebral malaria”, where oxygen flow to the brain is reduced and as a result of this and other effects of sequestration, impaired consciousness, coma and even death can occur.

Can malaria affect one’s mental fitness?

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QUESTION

Can malaria affect ones mental fitness?

ANSWER

Given that malaria is often associated with severe fever and flu-like illness, I would say that is usually enough to prevent someone from feeling completely mentally fit! However, in addition to these general symptoms, there are other specific ways in which malaria can affect a patient’s mind.

With a particular type of malaria, called Plasmodium falciparum (the most common form in Africa and the most deadly worldwide), the disease can sometimes progress to what is called cerebral malaria, where the malaria parasite stick to red blood cells that clog up the tiny red blood cells in the brain. This condition is very serious, and can lead to impaired mental function, loss of consciousness, coma and even death.  Luckily, these effects are usually reversible and there are rarely permanent mental consequences of infection with malaria if treated promptly and effectively.

What happens after you get malaria?

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QUESTION

What are the after effects of malaria?

ANSWER

In almost all cases, if malaria is diagnosed accurately and treated promptly, patients make a full recovery with no after effects. In some cases of severe malaria, the disease can develop into cerebral malaria, which can result in impaired mental function, loss of consciousness and coma (and, if untreated, even death). Again, if treated promptly, these effects should reverse, but in some cases, some neurological damage remains.

Similarly, children who are affected by malaria while still in the womb or during birth (“congenital” malaria) may experience low birth weight or retarded growth, which can have health implications later in life.