Repeated attacks confer a certain degree of immunity. The less immune a person is the more likely he is to have a fever every 2 to 4 days, depending on the kind of malaria.
Other symptoms of this malaria disease may include headache and rigors, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea. Convulsions are very common in children.
An enlarged lives and and spleen may cause abdominal pains. After an initial attack a patient usually continues for a long time to have a few parasites in the blood.
The spleen is enlarged, and there is a good deal of anaemia and failure to thrive in a child.
Complications are common in certain parts of the world, especially of certain kinds of malaria. Cerebral malaria, in which the signs are similar to those of meningitis, is a common complication of falciparum malaria in the non-immune or in the child. It is accompanied by convulsions, and when untreated it is rapidly fatal.
Malaria Cause
A protozoon called Plasmodium. There are four main types responsible for malaria: Plasmodium malariae, P. Falciparum, P. Ovale, P. Vivax. Plasmodia falciparum and malariae are the common types.Source. The source is the blood of other persons carrying the malaria parasite.
Malaria Route
Certain femal mosquitoes called Anopheles live on the blood, especially of humans. They hide quietly by day in the houses, and at night they bite and feed on the blood until they are satisfied.In biting a person with malaria they also obtain, as well as the red blood cells, the parasite which live withing these cells. The parasite develops and multiplies in the gut of the mosquitoes until there are many tiny parasites which reach the insect's salivary glands.
When the mosquito then bites another person some days later, these parasites are left behind in that person, and they develop further in the lives and in the red blood cells, bringing about the symptoms of malaria. After a further time for development the nature parasites are taken up again by the bite of the mosquito, and so the cycle goes on.
Malaria Susceptibles
There is no absolute immunity. However, there is a great deal of partial immunity for those who have survived a number of acute attacks.Most adults therefore, in the areas where malaria is endemic, are partially immune, i.e they have macabuional attacks which are very modified. The most susceptible, therefore, are young children who have not lived long enough to have had many attacks. Moreover, those who have come from areas where a form of parasite is rare to an area where it is common, are liable to have an acute attack. Pregnant women, too, have more attacks of malaria than other adult women.
Malaria Prevention
This can be considered from the point of view of the source, the route of malaria infection, and the susceptibles. By the treatment of sufferers, the number of persons from whom the mosquito could pick up parasites would be in reduced.However, only in societies of educated people, or societies of disciplined people (for example, the army or police), is it possible to persuade them regularly to take the malarial prophylactics, or to go invariably for treatment.
A more promising attacks on the mosquito and its breeding-places. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, even in a little water in a tin. A clean and level compound will help reduce breeding-sites.
Public works departments should drain or fill in stagnant pools. All babies' cots should be covered with mosquito-net. There should be mosquito-netting at windows and doors.
Finally, in interrupting the transmission, an attack can be made on the adult mosquito itself. The individual may use insecticides such as pyrethrum in the house, which are helpful in reducing the number of mosquitoes, thus reducing the number of malaria infection.
The widespread of DDT, however, creates a problem of resistance. The spraying of all houses in one areas at the same time is the way in which the WHO has helped several countries totally to eradicate malaria.
