Malaria essays

Malaria essays Many communicable diseases are prevalent throughout the world today. The most significant tropical parasitic disease is Malaria. Malaria which means, bad air, is an infectious disease caused by single-celled parasites of the genus Plasmodium. There are four species of this parasite that can cause human malaria. Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium ovale are the instigators of this infection. Malaria is transmitted from person to person by the bite of female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. The vector of Malaria is the mosquito, since this is the organism that makes it possible for other people to receive it. The life cycle of malaria consists of many developmental stages. When the infected mosquito bites another human, sporozoites in the mosquitos saliva transfer to the blood of the human. They then travel in the blood to the liver, where they divide to form 30,000 to 40,000 merozoites. These merozoites leave the liver and enter the bloodstream where they invade red blood cells. The merozoites multiply rapidly until the red cells burst. The incubation period between the bite of the mosquito varies with the different forms of malaria. With vivax Malaria the incubation period is fourteen days. Falciparum malaria has an incubation period of around eighteen days and the malaria infection has a 6 week incubation period. Prodrome symptoms of Malaria are an increased temperature, and warm flushed skin. Many painful and uncomfortable symptoms occur during the clinical stage. The destruction of the red blood cells caused by the merozoites, leads wastes, toxins, and other debris to enter the blood. The body responds to this by producing fever, which is an immune response. The fever usually occurs in intermittent episodes. Each episode begins with sudden, violent chills, soon followed by an intense fever and then profuse sweating. These episodes can last up to twelve hours....