Malaria is a disease that spreads through the bite of mosquitoes that have been infected with parasites. Malaria infection can occur only with one mosquito bite. If not treated properly, the disease can cause death.
Malaria is rarely transmitted directly from one person to another. This disease can be contagious in case of direct contact with the patient's blood. The fetus in the womb can also be infected with malaria by contracting from the mother's blood.
Malaria Symptoms
Malaria symptoms usually appear between one to two weeks after the body is infected. Symptoms can also appear a year after mosquito bites, but the case is rare. Malaria symptoms generally consist of fever, sweating, chills or chills, vomiting, headaches, diarrhea, and muscle aches.
If you have already experienced the symptoms of malaria, see your doctor immediately to be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. Malaria can be easily diagnosed by simple blood tests.
Parasites Cause Malaria
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites. Actually there are many types of Plasmodium parasites, but only five types cause malaria in humans. Plasmodium parasites are only spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes. Two common types of parasites are Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax.
Malaria mosquito bites are more common at night. After the bite, the parasite will enter the bloodstream.
The spread of malaria can also occur through blood transfusions or through the use of syringes alternately. Although this case rarely happens, you still have to be careful.
Treatment of Malaria
Malaria patients can recover completely if treated and treated properly. Different types of antimalarial drugs are used to treat and prevent transmission of malaria.
Drugs given depend on several things, namely the severity of the symptoms, the type of parasite that causes it, the location of malaria transmission, as well as the patient's condition. If the patient is pregnant, the treatment will be differentiated from those who are not pregnant.
Complications of Malaria
Malaria disease will have a worse impact if it occurs in pregnant women, infants, small children, and the elderly. Malaria has the potential to make the body's resistance decrease drastically in a short time. Therefore, the handling needs to be done quickly.
If malaria is not treated early, it can cause complications such as dehydration, severe anemia, organ failure, and other conditions.
Prevention of Malaria
Basically, malaria can be avoided. To prevent transmission of malaria, the Indonesian government has implemented various programs.
Avoiding yourself from mosquito bites is the most important way to prevent transmission of malaria. You can wear mosquito nets to cover the bed during sleep, remove puddles around the house, use insecticide lotion, and use clothes or blankets covering the skin of the body.
Malaria Symptoms
Malaria symptoms will appear if you are bitten by a mosquito that was already infected by the parasite Plasmodium. Incubation period or the time between mosquito bites a malaria and the start of symptoms depends on the type of parasite that infects. Incubation period of Plasmodium falciparum is about 1-2 weeks, while for Plasmodium vivax is 2-3 week. Both types of parasite this is the most common cause of malaria in Indonesia.
The initial symptoms of malaria are:
- High fever
- Headache
- Sweating cold
- Nausea and vomiting
- Muscle pain
- Diarrhea
- Anemia
- Seizures
- Bloody stools
In the early incubation period, malaria symptoms such as fevers and headaches often only mild and often misinterpreted by other common diseases. However, this can become dangerous if the type of parasite that bite you is Plasmodium falciparum. The type of this most dangerous parasite and can cause serious conditions or even life threatening if not promptly handled within 24 hours.