Malaria

Malaria is a disease caused by infection of the protozoan parasite Plasmodium groups, where the process of transmission through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito. Protozoan parasites of this type spread in many tropical areas, such as in America, Asia and Africa.

There are four types of plasmodium parasite can infect humans, but which are often encountered in cases of malaria are Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Others are Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium malariae.

Signs and symptoms of malaria disease

Early bud / incubation this disease can be several days until a few months later appeared before the signs and symptoms complained of by patients such as fever, chills, pains or joint pain, sometimes until vomiting, pale / anemis, enlarged liver and spleen, urine was cloudy / heavy because they contain hemoglobin (Hemoglobinuria), skin tingled and having convulsions.

However, the classic sign is displayed is a sudden feeling of cold, followed by stiffness and then the appearance of fever and sweating a lot after 4 to 6 hours later, this goes on every two days. Among this period, the patient may feel good as new. At this age children can lead to malaria strange symptoms, such as showing the movement / posture as a result of abnormal brain cavity pressure. Even more serious may cause brain damage.

Classification Manifestation Malaria

There are several forms of malaria disease manifestations, among others:
- Tertiana Malaria, caused by Plasmodium vivax, in which sufferers feel feverish appear every third day.
- Quartana Malaria, caused by Plasmodium malariae, the patient felt a fever every fourth day.
- Cerebral malaria, caused by Plasmodium falciparum, the patient experienced irregular fever with symptoms accompanied terserangnya part of the brain, even coma and enters a phase of sudden death.
- Pernicious malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax, the symptoms can occur very suddenly, like a stroke, a coma with severe malaria symptoms.

Enforce the Malaria Diagnosis

With the signs and symptoms complained of and seen by the health team, it will be done on laboratory examination (particularly a blood test) to confirm the cause and diagnosis to be given to the patient.

Malaria Treatment

Based on the examination, either directly arising from the complaint and more focused on results laboratium your doctor will give you some medicine to patients. Among them is the provision of drugs to lower fever such as paracetamol, vitamins to boost immune system as an effort to help the healing.

While antimalarial drugs used are usually chloroquine, because the price is cheap and so far proven effective as a cure malaria in the world. But there are some patients who are resistant to chloroquine gift, so some doctors will give another antimalarial such as Artesunate-Sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine, Artesunate-amodiaquine, Artesunat-piperquine, artemether-lumefantrine, and Dihidroartemisinin-piperquine.

Prevention of Malaria

Prevention of malaria can be done by cleaning Nest Mosquito (PSN), trying to avoid mosquito bites, or the prevention efforts with chloroquine drug delivery when visiting malaria endemic areas.