Malaria: What is it? How is it caused?

     Malaria is a devastating disease effecting Zimbabwe. About 1 million to 3 million people die yearly from this disease.  Malaria is caused by plasmodia, which is found in an infected mosquito, which enters the bloodstream when the mosquito bites the human. The plasmodium then multiplies and infects the liver and reaches the red blood cells causing them to burst and the patient to become anemic (loss of red blood cells) (“Malaria” 95&96).


What system of the body does malaria effect?

     Malaria affects the circulatory system because it affects the bloodstream. The circulatory system’s job is to circulate blood and lymph through the body. It includes organs and tissues such as the heart, blood vessels, lymph, lymphatic vessels, and lymph glands (“Cir’culator sys”tem”). They work together to transport blood and substances to and from all parts of the body. The circulatory system is composed of two main parts; the systemic circulation, which serves the body as a whole except for the lungs, and the pulmonary circulation, which carries the blood to and from the lungs ("Circulatory system"). Malaria affects the circulatory system by getting into the bloodstream and multiplying causing the blood cells to burst and the patient to become anemic (“Malaria” 95&96).

What are some symptoms of malaria?

     Malarial attacks occur when a red blood cell bursts because of the multiplying plasmodia in the bloodstream. An attack can last two or more hours and is accompanied by headache, muscular pain, and nausea. The patient may also have a fever up to 106 degrees Fahrenheit or 41.1 degrees Celsius and may have attacks of chills. After an attack the patient perspires, causing the body temperature to drop to normal. Between attacks the patient will feel better but is weak and anemic ("Malaria" 95 & 96).

How does malaria spread among humans?

     When a mosquito carrying the plasmodia bites a human it causes the disease to be passed on to the human. Then, when another mosquito bites the human who is carrying the plasmodia it will become infected too. When the mosquito bites another person it transmits the plasmodia to them. This cycle continues on and on ("Malaria" 95 & 96). Malaria is an infectious disease.

How does malaria spread throughout the body?

     First a mosquito infected with the malaria parasite bites a human. The parasites then enter the liver through the bloodstream. Next the parasites multiply rapidly in the liver and reenter the bloodstream, invade red blood cells, and continue to reproduce. The infected blood cells then burst, infecting other blood cells. This cycle causes malaria's fever and chills. Another mosquito becomes infected when it bites the infected human. When the infected mosquito bites a new human, the cycle begins again (Lynette 14).


How can malaria be prevented?

     There are not many ways to prevent malaria. One way is mosquito nets (“Malaria” 96). They are put over beds to protect the person when they are asleep. These will help because mosquitoes are at their worst at night. Another way to prevent malaria is mosquito wands which are like portable bug zappers. With the help of these inexpensive preventions maybe we can put an end to malaria!

What are some treatments for malaria?

     There are different medications that can cure malaria. The type of medicine used to cure malaria depends in the type of malaria it is. There are four types of plasmodium that cause malaria; Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium malariae (Lynette 13). Plasmodium falciparum causes the deadliest kind of malaria, killing millions of people every year, most of them children (Lynette 13). Quinine is the main medicine used to cure malaria but if the malaria is caused by Plasmodium falciparum, quinine may not work alone. With the help of other synthetic drugs we can reduce the seriousness of the symptoms caused by Plasmodium falciparum. Types of synthetic drugs are chloroquine, primaquine, and mefloquine (“Malaria” 96). However, many types of malaria have become resistant to the medicines. This is a reason malaria is so money consuming because doctors have to keep coming up with better medicines. Fortunately, they have recently discovered a new medicine called Artemensin which can be used with other drugs to treat malaria and prevent the development of resistant varieties of plasmodia (“Malaria” 96).

What is Quinine?

     Quinine is the main medicine used to cure malaria. It is a drug made from the bark of the cinchona tree. Quinine was once the only cure to malaria. It reduces fever malaria brings, and works the best when used with other synthetic drugs. Synthetic drugs were first used in the mid 1940s, when Quinine was scarce. These types of drugs are less dangerous than Quinine as far as symptoms from the medicine but they are not as effective (“Malaria” 96).


Did you know…?

     Did you know that people who carry the sickling gene, which causes the disease known as sickle cell, are immuned from malaria (“Malaria” 96)? It is true. Also malaria comes from a word in Italian which means “bad air” (“Malaria” 96). Lastly, did you know that 1 to 3 million people die yearly from malaria (“malaria” 96)?

The orange sections on this map show where malaria is found in the world including Africa.