Malaria
By: Jeffrey Lin
Causes of the Disease
Malaria is caused by protozoan of the genus Plasmodium:
Infection begins with a bite from an infected mosquito.
The parasite travels from the mosquito to your liver, where the parasite
begins to reproduce.
The parasite leaves the liver and travels to the bloodstream, where it
infects red blood cells. The parasite reproduces in the red blood cells, which
destroys the cells and releases more parasites into the bloodstream.
If another mosquito bites an infected person, that mosquito can then carry
the infection to someone else.
Symptoms and effects of Malaria
With malaria, you develop a high fever, which comes and goes every other day or
few days. How often a fever returns varies with each species of malaria.
Many infections do not show this classic pattern of returning fevers at all. In many
people the infection will seem more like the flu with high fever and body aches.
People also will complain of headache, nausea, shaking chills (rigors), sweating,
and weakness.
As the infection progresses, the fevers get less severe and you seem to recover.
But the infection can hang on in many people for several years, particularly for
those with a long history of exposure to malaria.
These people can develop some immunity and may be infected for many years
while only rarely having symptoms.
Prevention
For people traveling to areas where malaria exists, prevention is
perhaps the most important aspect of managing the disease. See
your doctor well before you travel, because some medications need
to be started before you travel.
Several medications are used to prevent infections during foreign
travel. The pattern of drug resistance to these medications is
constantly changing.
In some parts of the world, P falciparum is resistant to all these drugs.
Use of mosquito nets and insect repellents can decrease the chance
of getting infected
Treatment/Cure for Malaria
In much of the world, malaria is treated at home with oral
medications and fluids. Severe infections require IV drug
therapy.
In the US, the disease probably should be treated first in a
hospital.
The most important aspect of home care is to make sure you
drink lots of fluids and do not become dehydrated.
History of Malaria
The first detailed description of malarial disease is credited to the early Greek
text On Airs, Waters, and Places by Hippocrates (Greek doctor) in 400 B.C., but
allusions to malarial disease appear in earlier Greek mythology, Chinese medical
writings and Egyptian hieroglyphs (Deaderick 1909; CDC 2004). Recent scientific
evidence supports ancient literature, providing evidence that the disease
predates these descriptions. Malarial DNA, specifically the Plasmodium
falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter (PfCRT1) gene, was identified in
Egyptian mummies dated from 1500 to 500 B.C. Additionally, human antigens to
the P. falciparum histidine rich protein 2 (PfHRP2) were detected in mummies
from 3200 B.C, although the specificity of this assay has been questioned (Miller
1994; Nerlich 2008).
Technology Implications
In the current study, Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena and his
colleagues at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, in
Baltimore, put equal numbers of malaria-resistant
mosquitoes and ordinary mosquitoes in a cage and allowed
them to feed on mice infected with the malaria-causing
parasite. The researchers then collected the eggs laid by the
insects, reared them into adulthood, and allowed the new
generation of mosquitoes to feed on infected mice.
Malaria Around the World
Africa bears the overwhelming burden of
malaria. It is home to the deadliest form
of malaria parasite and to climatic
conditions where mosquitoes flourish,
Local environmental conditions, such as
wetlands and drainage pattern, also
influence the abundance of mosquitoes.
Consequently, dams and irrigation
schemes must be carefully planned and
managed in order to reduce opportunities
for mosquitoes to breed.
Malaria Video (2:56)
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=B9EBD9D
A-8126-4CD0-A633-8ED812A76E1E&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=U
S#
Bibliography
http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/184
07/?
a=f
http://www.malariavaccineroadmap.net/
http://www.malariajournal.com/content/9/1/31
