Plasmodium falciparum is the type of malaria that most often causes severe and life-threatening malaria; this parasite is very common in many countries in Africa south of the Sahara desert….

There are 5 parasite species that cause malaria in humans, and 2 of these species – Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax – pose the greatest threat. In 2019, nearly half of the world’s population was at risk of malaria.

Malaria is a mosquito-borne parasitic infection spread by Anopheles mosquitoes. The Plasmodium parasite that causes malaria is neither a virus nor a bacterium – it is a single-celled parasite that multiplies in red blood cells of humans as well as in the mosquito intestine.

What Are the Different Types of Malaria Parasites?

• Plasmodium falciparum (or P. falciparum)
• Plasmodium malariae (or P. malariae)
• Plasmodium vivax (or P. vivax)
• Plasmodium ovale (or P. ovale)
• Plasmodium knowlesi (or P. knowlesi)

In particular, babesiosis — a disease that mimics malaria — is catching up with Lyme disease in some communities. “Lyme disease is the big boy on the block,” Dr. Peter Krause, an infectious disease specialist at the Yale School of Public Health, tells Shots. “But now babesiosis is spreading in a similar pattern.”

Plasmodium falciparum – mainly found in Africa, it’s the most common type of malaria parasite and is responsible for most malaria deaths worldwide.

ACT is a combination of two or more drugs that work against the malaria parasite in different ways. This is usually the preferred treatment for chloroquine-resistant malaria….Medications

• Atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone)
• Quinine sulfate (Qualaquin) with doxycycline (Oracea, Vibramycin, others)
• Primaquine phosphate.

Patients with malaria typically become symptomatic a few weeks after infection, though the symptomatology and incubation period may vary, depending on host factors and the causative species. Clinical symptoms include the following: Headache (noted in virtually all patients with malaria) Cough.

A very efficient mosquito (Anopheles gambiae complex) is responsible for high transmission. The predominant parasite species is Plasmodium falciparum , which is the species that is most likely to cause severe malaria and death.

India has sustained Annual Parasitic Incidence (API) of less than one since 2012. The World Malaria Report (WMR) 2020 released by WHO, which gives the estimated cases for malaria across the world, based on mathematical projections, indicates that India has made considerable progress in reducing its malaria burden.

Malaria kills up to two million people per year, infecting 300 to 500 million more. The only infectious diseases that kill more people are tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Malaria parasites can be identified by examining under the microscope a drop of the patient’s blood, spread out as a “blood smear” on a microscope slide. Prior to examination, the specimen is stained (most often with the Giemsa stain) to give the parasites a distinctive appearance.

Owing to the nonspecific nature of Widal agglutination test, and cross reactivity between anti malarial antibody and antibody against Salmonella Typhi co-infection with malaria and typhoid is often detected by rapid diagnostic tests.

Collect the venous blood in a vacuum tube containing anticoagulant (preferably EDTA); alternatively, collect the blood in a syringe and transfer it to a tube with anticoagulant; mix well. Prepare at least 2 thick smears and 2 thin smears as soon as possible after collection.

A normal test is negative, meaning that you don’t have any Plasmodium parasites in your blood. A positive result means that you have the parasites in your blood and that you may have malaria.

These data suggest that paracetamol has no antipyretic benefits over mechanical antipyresis alone in P falciparum malaria. Moreover, paracetamol prolongs parasite clearance time, possibly by decreased production of TNF and oxygen radicals.

Malaria is an entirely preventable and treatable disease if tackled early enough. However, there are growing problems with drug resistance that are posing a threat to the global fight against malaria.

The threshold of detection by these rapid diagnostic tests is in the range of 100 parasites/µl of blood (commercial kits can range from about 0.002% to 0.1% parasitemia) compared to 5 by thick film microscopy.

A well balance diet consisting of cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, milk and milk products, fish (stew), chicken (soup/stew), sugar, honey, etc that provides adequate nutrition as well as maintains fluid balance is recommended for malarial patient.

Bite prevention – avoid mosquito bites by using insect repellent, covering your arms and legs, and using a mosquito net. Check whether you need to take malaria prevention tablets – if you do, make sure you take the right antimalarial tablets at the right dose, and finish the course.

Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are the best anti-malarial drugs available now. Artemisinin enhances efficacy and has the potential of lowering the rate at which resistance emerges and spreads.

For severe malaria, injectable artesunate is the recommended first line treatment; injectable artemether and quinine are use for second line treatment. Pregnant women in the first trimester are treated with quinine for severe malaria.

The only effective treatment for typhoid is antibiotics. The most commonly used are ciprofloxacin (for non-pregnant adults) and ceftriaxone. Other than antibiotics, it is important to rehydrate by drinking adequate water. In more severe cases, where the bowel has become perforated, surgery may be required.

Two equally effective types of doxycycline are available, doxycycline hyclate and doxycycline monohydrate. Doxycycline can be prescribed by itself for the prevention of malaria or in combination with another medicine for treatment of malaria.

The best available treatment, particularly for P. falciparum malaria, is artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT).

Injection of artesunate is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for treating adults and children that have severe malaria as studies have shown that it results in fewer deaths compared to quinine treatment.

A malaria vaccine is a vaccine that is used to prevent malaria. The only approved vaccine as of 2021 is RTS,S, known by the brand name Mosquirix. It requires four injections, and has a relatively low efficacy….Malaria vaccine.