Vaccsbook

Type of Microbe

Malaria is caused by parasites (single-cell microrganism) of the Plasmodium group. Plasmodia have a complicated life cycle and vary in size between 1/1000th and 1/150th of a millimetre

Also known as

Plasmodium Falicparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae.

Disease

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by parasites transmitted from human to human by mosquito bites.

Vaccination

An injectable vaccine was approved in 2015. As of 2020, pilot projects to determine its effectiveness are underway, but early results indicate many patients do not receive protection and in those who do, protection drops after a few years.

Acquisition & Transmission

Malaria is transmitted from human to human by mosquitos, usually the Anopheles mosquito. The mosquito bites a patient with malaria, acquires the plasmodium parasite in its saliva, then bites another human.

Signs and Symptoms

Signs are an elevated temperature; in severe cases jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin) occurs due to liver dysfunction.
Symptoms are tiredness, vomiting, joint pain, and headache.
Episodes of shivering/chills followed by sweating, occuring every 2 to 3 days is a classic sysmptom. In more severe cases, mental impairment, shortness of breath, anemia, and kidney dysfunction can develop.

Timeline

Symptoms onset 10 to 15 days (range 8 to 25) after being bitten and resolve in two weeks with treatment.
In patients who survive without medication treatment, symptoms can recur at intervals of months or years later.

Contagion

Direct human to human transmission is very rare, and only occcurs by direct blood to blood contact.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is usually made on the basis of symptoms in areas where the mosquito/plasmodium are endemic, and microscopic exam of the patients blood.

Body Systems Affected

Malaria primarily affects the blood system, by invading red blood cells and causing them to burst releasing their contents into the circulation. This provokes a response from the immune system resulting in dysfunction of the liver, kidney, and brain, and both abnormal bleeding and clotting.

Treatment

Treatment using anti-malarial drugs called Artemisinins is now the standard; many malaria parasites are now resistant to previously used medications such as chloroquine & hydroxychloquine.

Prevention

Prevention for travellers consists of antibiotics and specific antimalarial medications starting 1 to 2 weeks prior to possible exposure.
Preventitive medication for those living in endemic areas is usually impractical or simply unavailable.
Conservative measures comprise applying mosquito-repellant to the skin, nets (often treated with insecticide)in sleeping areas, spraying of insecticide on floors and walls, and eradication of pools of stagnant water, and/or insectiside spraying

Complications

In severe cases, anemia, low blood pH, blood cell abnormailities, spontaneous clotting & bleeding, liver and kidney dysfunction occur. Neurological abnormalities, known as Cerebral Malaria, affecting eyesight, posture, and decreased conciousness also occur.

Fatalities

Fatalities are usually cuased by the Falciparum variety of parasite. Over 200 million cases occur annually resulting in about 400,000 deaths (0.2%)

Epidemics & Pandemics

Although case numbers fluctuate from year to year and country to country, epidemics are not identified as such. Pandemics do not occur due to geographical restriction of the mosquito

Geography

Malaria is found in the tropical and subtropical zones where the mosquito exists; Asia, Latin America, and Africa south of the Sahara desert.