Research Paper on major parasitic disease 

“Malaria” and common bacterial disease 

“Cholera”  
- By Tasnin Hassan Trina 
- Grade: 9B 

Abstract:  
Malaria is the most prevalent endemic disease in large parts of the world 
and is subject to control by health authorities. Today, the goal of malaria 
control is to prevent mortality and reduce morbidity and socioeconomic 
losses through the progressive improvement and strengthening of local 
and national capabilities. The World Health Organization considers early 
diagnosis as the first basic element of the strategy to control the disease. 
Traditionally, laboratory diagnosis has been made using the thick blood 
film, which continues to be the gold standard test. However, this test has 
disadvantages such as the manner in which the film is prepared, the level 
of training of the observer, the adequacy of maintenance of materials and 
equipment and it's only fair sensitivity.Cholera, caused by the infection of 
toxigenic Vibrio cholerae to humans, is a life threatening diarrheal disease 
with epidemic and pandemic potential. The V. cholerae, both O1 and O139 
serogroups, produce a potent enterotoxin (cholera toxin) responsible for 
the lethal symptoms of the disease. The O1 serogroup has two biotypes , 
classical and El Tor; each of which has two major serotypes (based on 
antigenic responses), Ogawa and Inaba and the extremely rare Hikojima. 
V. cholerae O1 strains interconvert and switch between the Ogawa and 
Inaba serotypes. Fluid and electrolyte replacement is the mainstay of 
treatment of cholera patients; the severe cases require antibiotic 
treatment to reduce the duration of illness and replacement of fluid 
intake. The antibiotic therapy currently has faced difficulties due to the 
rapid emergence and spread of multidrug resistant V. cholerae causing 
several outbreaks in the globe. Currently, cholera has been becoming 
endemic in an increasing number of geographical areas, reflecting a 
failure in implementation of control measures. However, the current safe 
oral vaccines lower the number of resistant infections and could thus 
represent an effective intervention measure to control antibiotic 
resistance in cholera. Overall, the priorities for cholera control remain 
public health interventions through improved drinking water, sanitation, 
surveillance and access to health care facilities, and further development 
of safe, effective and appropriate vaccines.  

Introduction: 
In this research we will be discussing and matching both the diseases, 
malaria, one of t​he major parasitic diseases and cholera, a common 
bacterial disease​. Here, ​Parasite and bacteria are organisms that 
resemble very primitive organisms but have great adaptations to survive 
in different environmental conditions. To humans, these organisms are 
paramount because the majority of human infections are caused by them. 
Malaria (which is a parasitic disease) is a mosquito-borne infectious 
disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes s​ymptoms 
that typically include fever, tiredness, vo​miting​, and headaches.In severe 
cases it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma, or death. Symptoms usually 
begin ten to fifteen days after being bitten by an infected mosquito. If not 
properly treated, people may have recurrences of the disease months 
later. In those who have recently survived an infection, reinfection usually 
causes milder symptoms. This partial resistance disappears over months 
to years if the person has no continuing exposure to malaria. 
Cholera (a bacterial disease) is an infection of the small intestine by some 
strains of the bacterium ​Vibrio cholerae​. Symptoms may range from none, 
to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery 
diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and muscle cramps may also 
occur. Diarrhea can be so severe that it leads within hours to severe 
dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. This may result in sunken eyes, 
cold skin, decreased skin elasticity, and wrinkling of the hands and feet. 
Dehydration can cause the skin to turn bluish. 

Materials and Methods: 

This was an online research, which is why I’ve had the online internet 
materials to conduct this study. Wikipedia has had some potential in 
providing information about the effects, symptoms and treatments about 
malaria and cholera. Mainly, if it was physical research, then there would 
have been observations, interviews,etc on someone having the disease 
and would have experiments in labs regarding treatment. 
 

Results: 

Fig: Suspected Malaria cases per year ( from 2000-2014 ) 

 
  
Fig : Number of cases of cholera from the years 1989- 2016 
  

 
Fig: Cases of malaria and cholera in the world 
 
Discussion: 
Firstly, ​Malaria is an entirely preventable and treatable mosquito-borne 
illness. In 2014, 97 countries and territories had ongoing malaria 
transmission. An estimated 3.3 billion people are at risk of malaria, of 
whom 1.2 billion are at high risk. In high-risk areas, more than one malaria 
case occurs per 1000 population. ​In 2017, it was estimated that 435 000 
deaths due to malaria had occurred globally, of which 403 000 deaths 
(approximately 93%) were in the WHO African Region. Almost 80% of all 
deaths in 2017 occurred in 17 countries in the WHO African Region and 
India.  
Secondly, Researchers​ have estimated that each year there are 1.3 million 
to 4.0 million cases of cholera, and 21 000 to 143 000 deaths worldwide due 
to cholera. During the 19th century, cholera spread across the world from 
its original reservoir in the Ganges delta in India. Six subsequent 
pandemics killed millions of people across all continents. The current 
(seventh) pandemic started in South Asia in 1961, and reached Africa in 1971 
and the Americas in 1991. Cholera is now endemic in many countries. 
Lastly, the percentage of malaria is much greater than cholera because of 
its deadly effect which causes death in many patients. ​Most of those 
infected will have no or mild symptoms, and can be successfully treated 
with oral rehydration solution. Provision of safe water and sanitation is 
critical to control the transmission of cholera and malaria. 
 

Limitations​:
Malaria: Limitations of this study include the relatively small sample size of 
CHWs from a single geographic area, and the short time span (one week) 
during which children were diagnosed and treated for malaria. Although a 
study involving multiple sites over a prolonged period might provide more 
generalizable information, these results nonetheless underline some 
important considerations for the roll-out of RDTs in other areas, 
particularly the prevalence of malaria among the target population for 
testing. During the dry season, or in areas where malaria prevalence is 
lower, RDTs may be more cost-effective than determined in this study. 
Cholera: ​Cholera was last common in the U.S. in the 19th Century, before 
modern water and sewage treatment systems prevented its spread via 
contaminated water. Today, only 5-10 cases of cholera are reported 
annually in the U.S., and half of those are contracted abroad. Due to its 
waterborne nature, rare cases of cholera outbreaks can occur in the U.S. 
due to contaminated seafood. 
In spite of its extreme rarity in the U.S. and Western Europe, cholera 
outbreaks are still a serious health problem in other parts of the world. 
The World Health Organization documents over 150,000 cases each year. 
Cholera is most common in places with poor sanitation systems, 
overcrowding, active war zones, and famine. Cholera is still considered an 
epidemic in parts of Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. 
 

Possibilities: 
Malaria: The number of chloroquine-resistant Pl. falciparum malaria cases 
in the last decade dramatically increased. This fact causes significant 
problems not only in the therapy but in the malaria chemoprophylaxis as 
well. Presently, in accordance with the WHO's recommendations, the drug 
of choice in the malaria chemoprophylaxis is mefloquine. Other drugs can 
be used only when there is a problem (medical or other) in mefloquine-use. 
Halofantrine (Halfan) or the so-called "double-acting" drugs (e.g. Fansidar) 
are not recommended in the malaria chemoprophylaxis. 
Cholera:​Scientifically controlled field studies have established that 
parenterally administered killed vibrio vaccines or somatic antigen 
preparations offer only limited degrees of protection in certain population 
groups and have made it obvious that new approaches to the 
immunoprophylaxis of cholera are needed. It has now also been 
established that the symptoms of cholera result from the action of the 
cholera enterotoxin (choleragen) on the epithelial cells of the small 
intestine. Immunologically related enterotoxins have been incriminated in 
other recently recognized diarrheal diseases (e.g., those caused by 
Escherichia coli and "non-agglutinable" (NAG)vibrios). Additionally, 
volunteer studies have shown that induced cholera results in rather solid 
and lasting immunity against homologous re-challenge thus proving that 
immunity against cholera is feasible. 
 
References:  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria
Sharaf helped a lot in understanding the research.
 

 
Fig: Cholera and Malaria