Deadly Disease Malaria: A Child Dies Every 30 Seconds Due to Malaria

Malaria disease is a deadly tropical disease caused by a parasite plasmodium and is transmitted through bites of female anopheles mosquito. There exist four different species of the malarial parasite that infect human beings which include Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium malariae. However, among these four, it is the Plasmodium falciparum that is the leading cause of deadly malaria affecting human brain. This particular species is fatal for humans accounting to almost 90 percent of human deaths. Complications from this malaria can lead to pulmonary edema, renal failure, hypoglycemia and coma.

It is also this species, Plasmodium falciparum that prevails so much in the tropics affecting the malnourished, weak as well as young children. Sadly, all of the species have developed strong resistance to several drugs and researchers are continuing their efforts trying unconventional drugs on the species.

Estimates from WHO reports that annually more than 1 million deaths occurs due to malaria disease and approximately 300-500 million cases of malaria is reported, especially in the developing countries such as Africa, Asia and South America. It has been reported that in Africa a child dies in every 30 seconds due to malaria. Even in US, 1300 cases of malaria disease are reported each year.

Symptoms of malaria disease include fever, shaking chills, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea and abdominal discomfort. Tremors accompanied with high fever occur at frequent intervals. In case of plasmodium falciparum, the fever peaks generally occur with 48-hour gaps along with repetitions.

The malarial parasite spreads aggressively in human body. Malarial parasite is injected into the bloodstream through the bite of the female anopheles mosquito. These parasites enter into the cells of the liver tissue and are known as sporozoites. These sporozoites transform into spores and replicate through asexual reproduction until a cyst like structure is formed. During this entire process no symptom of malaria disease manifests itself. The fever occurs and symptoms reflect only when the cysts burst and merozoites are released into the bloodstream along with Schuffner’s granules which cause the characteristic chills in the patient. These spores destroy the red blood cells and the parasite multiplies by consuming hemoglobin.

Malaria disease can be acquired through an infected blood transfusion or through organ transplantation as well.

Efforts are on to eradicate malaria disease but long seem the journey. There is Global malaria Action Plan supported by UN aims to reduce malaria cases to 70 percent by 2015 from the total cases reported in the year 2000. The plan also focuses on the action required to eradicate any case of death due to malaria by the same timeframe.