World Malaria Day 2023: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Prevention

World Malaria Day 2023: Malaria is a disease transmitted by mosquito bites that can be fatal to humans, especially in tropical regions. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2021, there were 217 million cases of malaria worldwide and 619,000 people died from the disease. Although most cases occur in Africa, the WHO notes that about 20,000 people die of malaria in India each year.

World Malaria Day is observed on 25 April each year to bring attention to global efforts to control and eliminate the disease. In this article, we will learn about the causes, symptoms and prevention of malaria.

Read also: World Malaria Day 2023: Date, Theme, History and Significance

cause malaria

1. Malaria is caused by parasitic microorganisms called Plasmodium, which are unicellular in nature.
2. These parasites are transmitted to humans through the bite of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, which carry the parasite in their saliva.
3. Once inside the human body, the parasites enter the bloodstream and travel to the liver, where they mature and begin to reproduce.
4. There are five different types of Plasmodium parasites that can cause malaria, namely P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae, and P. knowlesi.
5. Among them, P. falciparum is the deadliest and is responsible for the majority of malaria deaths.

Symptoms and Diagnosis

1. Patients begin with high fever and chills, headache, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting, leading to intense exhaustion.
2. Children show symptoms like cough, fever, diarrhea and vomiting.
3. Symptoms occur when the parasites reproduce inside red blood cells and cause them to burst.
4. Anemia is caused by the loss of red blood cells. Malaria can also cause jaundice.
5. Symptoms begin to appear anywhere from 10 days to four weeks after infection.
6. Many patients develop respiratory distress, enlarged liver and spleen, fluid accumulation in the lungs, pneumonia, hypoglycaemia, renal failure, retinal leucorrhoea, and encephalopathy.
7. Further complications can lead to bleeding, impaired coagulation, shock, and death.
8. Malaria is diagnosed using rapid diagnostic tests and microscopic examination of blood smears.

Redressal

1. It is advised to use mosquito nets to avoid mosquito bites.
2. Anopheles mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, in containers, in puddles, in rice fields, or in animal hoof prints. That’s why it is necessary to remove the stagnant water.
3. Using insecticide-treated nets and spraying insecticide indoors and outdoors is essential.
4. WHO-recommended chemopreventive malaria treatments also exist.
5. Additionally, the vaccine RTS, S/AS01, which acts against the P falciparum parasite, has shown effectiveness in reducing malaria in children.

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