Once malaria was called a swamp fever, and in the dark Middle Ages it was called "mala aria", which in Italian means bad air. And then, and now this disease is considered extremely difficult, because with it suffer red blood cells.
Today, in medicine, there are several types of disease, on which the characteristic signs of malaria depend.
Types of malaria
The type of malaria, in turn, depends on who became the causative agent of the disease. Among its species, there are the most dangerous, often fatal, and those that are successfully treated with medication.
Tropical Malaria - PL Falciparum. The most severe form of malaria, often with a fatal outcome. It is also the most common form of the disease.
The four-day form is the causative agent of malaria Plasmodium malariae. Its characteristic feature is seizures that recur after 72 hours.
The three-day malaria is Plasmodium vivax. Attacks repeat every 40 hours.
Oval-malaria - Plasmodium ovale. Attacks repeat every 48 hours.
The carrier of all kinds of malaria is the malarial mosquito, which lives mainly in the regions of Africa, slightly south of the Sahara. This territory accounts for about 90% of cases of infection, children under 5 years of age have a high probability of infection because of weak immunity.
Despite the fact that the malarial mosquito lives in almost all climatic zones (except for deserts, arctic and subarctic belts), it produces the greatest spread of malaria in places where there are no low temperatures, since a lower temperature does not promote its reproduction and the transfer of the disease.
Scientists have determined that over the next 20 years, the death rate from malaria will increase by 2 times.
The incubation period of malaria
The incubation period of malaria, like its symptoms, depends on the pathogen:
- with a tropical form, the incubation period is from 6 to 16 days;
- with a three-day form, the incubation period is from 7 to 21 days, but with a long incubation period this time increases to 14 months;
- With a four-day malaria, the incubation period is from 2 to 6 weeks;
- In the oval-malaria incubation period lasts from 7 to 21 days, and with a long incubation period can be 14 months.
Malaria Disease - Common Symptoms
The first signs of malaria are manifested by chills, which can have varying degrees of severity. It depends on how strong the immunity is. The first external signs of malaria are cyanosis and cooling of the extremities. The pulse becomes rapid, the breathing becomes shallow. This period lasts about an hour, but can reach 3 hours.
During the first days, the general condition worsens - the temperature can rise to 41 degrees, and be accompanied by:
- headaches ;
- vomiting;
- diarrhea;
- confusion of consciousness;
- shortness of breath;
- red face.
The attack ends with a decrease in temperature to normal or subfebrile, but then there is increased sweating lasting up to 5 hours.
After that, the person goes to sleep. Often the attack lasts about 10 hours, and appears again after a while, depending on the pathogen.
Between the attacks, the patient experiences weakness, despite the normalization of temperature. With each attack, the body is weakening more and more.
After several attacks, the patient's skin acquires an earthy or yellowish hue. Without treatment, a person can experience up to 12 seizures, but after their discontinuation within six months, the likelihood of a relapse is very high.
Clinical signs of malaria, depending on its form:
Symptoms of Tropical Malaria. This is the most severe form, and it first manifests itself as a headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea , and then a prolonged fever - up to several days. Breaks between seizures are small, and the fever time can be up to 36 hours.
Signs of a four-day malaria. This form begins immediately with an attack, the chills are poorly expressed. Attacks begin every 2 days and last 2 days.
Signs of a three-day malaria. The attack of three-day malaria begins in the daytime - the temperature rises and chills occur, and repeats every other day. This is one of the easiest forms of malaria.
Symptoms of oval malaria. This is the easiest form of malaria. With the current, it is similar to the three-day period, however it differs in that attacks occur in the evening.