April 26, 2024 is the 17th National Malaria Day, with the theme "Preventing the Retransmission of Malaria and Sustaining Elimination Gains". Mobilize the whole society to pay attention to malaria prevention and control, prevent the import and retransmission of malaria, and continue to consolidate the achievements of malaria elimination.
Summer is approaching, the temperature is rising, and the mosquitoes are starting to "rage" again. Annoying mosquitoes don't just suck your blood, they also bring an ancient disease – malaria, commonly known as "swings", which is the most prevalent tropical parasitic infectious disease with the highest morbidity and mortality in the world today. What are the symptoms of malaria infection, and how can I prevent and control it?
1. What kind of disease is malaria?
Malaria is a natural epidemic disease caused by Plasmodium parasites, transmitted by the bite of female Anopheles mosquitoes, because the growth and destruction of red blood cells by Plasmodium parasites is the main pathogenesis, which can lead to recurrent intermittent chills, high fever, followed by heavy sweating and relief, so it was once called "swinging" in the folk. In severe cases, severe complications such as severe anemia, hemolytic jaundice, hemolytic uremic syndrome, and cerebral malaria may occur due to the destruction of a large number of red blood cells, and may even lead to death. Malaria is the largest infectious disease cause of death in history, and the number of malaria deaths per year still exceeds 1 million per year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa.
2. Is malaria related to ordinary people, and can we be infected?
Thanks to the efforts of health workers across the country, malaria has now been basically eradicated in the mainland, and the possibility of malaria in the mainland is very small, but due to economic development and increasing foreign exchanges, the number of imported cases from abroad has gradually increased. Due to the activity of Anopheles mosquitoes, the main importing areas are some tropical countries, with Central African countries being the most numerous, and the main patient groups are African migrant workers and seafarers, followed by Southeast Asian countries, and the patients are usually tourists. Because there are basically no secondary cases in the range of Anopheles mosquitoes, especially in the northeast, malaria is a "non-contagious" disease for most people in the region, and there is no need to cause panic.
3. How to treat malaria and can I take oral medication on my own?
Treatment of malaria is a combination of antimalarial treatment-based treatments;
Generally, antimalarial drugs are treated with artemisinin derivatives combined with quine, and the specific drug regimen is relatively complex, depending on the severity of the disease and the type of malaria parasite infection;
In addition to antimalarial treatment, malaria also needs to be treated with blood transfusion, renal function protection, intracranial pressure reduction, and even blood purification, plasma exchange, and ventilator support, depending on the complications.
Mild malaria can be treated with oral medication, but due to the "re-ignition" and "recurrence" of malaria, once it occurs, it is more serious than the first condition, and the treatment requires sufficient amount, full course of treatment, and combination of drugs.
4. Can malaria be prevented, and is there a vaccine?
Malaria is an infectious disease vectored by Anopheles mosquitoes;
Mosquito prevention and control are the most important preventive measures, and mosquito nets and mosquito repellent are needed to prevent mosquito bites when traveling and working in tropical and subtropical areas.
At present, there is no clinical vaccine for malaria, and the malaria vaccine that has been used in Africa has certain efficacy, but it has not been popularized and applied on a large scale.
Chemical drug prophylaxis is a common measure at present, and oral administration once a week in endemic areas has also achieved good results, and the commonly used drugs are chloroquine, mefloquine, pyrimethamine, doxycycline, etc.
Author: Wang Kai
Source: Shenyang Sixth People's Hospital
Editor: Wang Shuangning
Proofreading: Xing Yuxin, Chen Zeming
Preliminary review: Liang Xuan
Review: Xu Jiang