Blood parasite passed to humans through malaria infected
mosquito bites (specifically the female
Anopheles mosquito). There are four different types of malaria strains:
Plasmodium falciparum,
p. vivax,
p. ovale and
p. malariae. The last three remain in the
host indefinately; only falciparum can be completely irradicated from the body, though harmless gametocytes will remain in the bloodstream for at least a month after treatment.
The parasite infects the
red blood cells, where it
reproduces and eventually causes the
blood cell to burst. This creates the
symptoms of a malaria infection: first
fever and
chills, accompanied by
headache and occasionally a
cough (much like
flu symptoms). The reproductive
cycle is about 1 1/2 days, during this time the infected host will feel fine. After several cycles, the blood count will drop significanly, causing severe
fatigue and a feeling of being out of
breath as the body attempts to compensate for the lack of
oxygen through the
respiratory system. If treatment does not come in a few days,
death will result. It is a MOST fatal
disease, affecting 500
million people (that's no
typo) and killing more than 2.5 million people a year.
The falciparum strain is the most deadly; untreated it can lead to
central nervous system failure. Vivax can lead to the
rupture of the
spleen. All can cause severe
anemia, resulting in
coma and death.
Malaria occurs in
tropical and
subtropical climates, mostly
Africa,
South America, the
Middle East,
India and all of
Southeast Asia. Treatment is nearly always the same: 7-10 days of either one or a combination of
chloroquine, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine,
quinine, tetracycline, doxycycline, mefloquine, and primaquine. Some particularly nasty strains like falciparum, especially in areas of Southeast Asia, have developed
resistences to traditional medication like doxycycline and larium. In most cases Quinine is still the most effective treatment.
Additional note: As I've now been infected with two strains (falciparum and vivax) I want to update this node to say that while p. vivax, p. ovale and malariae can stay resident in the liver and affect a person throughout their life, with use of primaquine it is possible to clear the body of all traces of the disease.