What is malaria?
Malaria, also known as "swinging", "hot and cold disease" and "argon", is the world's most prevalent, morbidity and mortality rate of tropical parasitic infectious diseases. Malaria is preventable and treatable.
Malaria is a parasite disease that is parasitic to the human body, transmitted by mosquitoes by vector, causing symptoms such as periodic chills, fever, sweating and signs such as spleen, anemia, etc., which can be divided into four types of inter-day malaria, falciparum malaria, three-day malaria and ovoid malaria.
There are four types of malaria parasites that live in humans, namely, inter-day malaria parasites, three-day malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum, and ovoid malaria parasites. The most common types of malaria parasites and Plasmodium falciparum are. Falciparum malaria (the deadliest type) is most common in sub-Saharan Africa and causes the majority of malaria deaths worldwide. In most countries outside sub-Saharan Africa, the parasite is the main malaria parasite.
How does malaria spread?
Mainly transmitted by mosquito bites: when the female vector bites the blood of people with malaria parasites, malaria parasites enter the mosquito body with the blood, under suitable temperature conditions, malaria parasites develop and reproduce to form spores. Spores entering the mosquito's salivary glands transmit malaria with saliva as mosquitoes re-suck blood. Malaria parasites invade the liver cells of the bitten person through blood flow, breed, mature and then invade the red blood cells to reproduce, so that red blood cells periodically rupture and become ill.
Malaria can also be transmitted by importing blood from people with malaria parasites, using syringes contaminated with blood from people with malaria parasites, etc.
Malaria parasites can also be transmitted to the fetus through the placenta, but are rare.
Do all mosquitoes transmit malaria?
Malaria can be transmitted only by certain mosquito species, and only by female mosquitoes in these species. Mosquitoes are mostly found in the tropics, with the most important distribution occurring in Africa, which is attached to the Sahara Desert.
Among the more than 60 species of mosquitoes known in China, China is recognized as the main vector of malaria in China by mosquitoes, human mosquitoes, micro mosquitoes and large and bad mosquitoes. At present, Beijing does not press mosquitoes, does not belong to the malaria epidemic area.
What are the symptoms of malaria?
Malaria is an acute fever. For people without immunity, symptoms usually appear 10-15 days after an infected mosquito bite.
"Cold, hot, sweating" is the symptoms of malaria attacks of the "trilogy." After malaria will first feel cold all over the body, and shiver very badly, which is medically called chill, about a few minutes or so began to heat up, body temperature can be as high as 40 degrees C, after about 3-4 hours on sweating, sweating after the body temperature gradually dropped to normal. Such symptoms usually occur once a day, and Plasmodium falciparum usually occurs daily or irregularly. Some patients' symptoms are not typical, only fever, headache, fatigue and other symptoms like colds, often easily misdiagnosed.
In addition to chills and fevers, patients often feel weak, tired, do not want to eat, dizziness, back limbs sore. In the case of children, wind can sometimes occur. Severe malaria patients, can be seen in coma, language, neck hard, if not timely and effective treatment will be life-threatening.
How to prevent and control malaria?
Mosquito control is the main way to prevent and reduce the spread of malaria.
1. Control of the source of infection: timely detection and standardization of the treatment of malaria patients, the next year malaria patients in the spring of the root treatment;
2. Strengthen malaria case surveillance: strengthen surveillance of people from malaria endemic areas and provide timely and standardized treatment when cases are detected;
3. Vector prevention: anti-mosquito and mosquito bite prevention: to carry out anti-mosquito, it is important to eliminate water accumulation, the eradication of mosquito breeding sites. Strengthen protection, proper use of mosquito nets during mosquito season, use of anti-mosquito agents and anti-mosquito equipment during outdoor activities.
4. Donate blood: those who come from malaria-endemic areas with no symptoms of malaria and have not taken antimalarial drugs may donate blood only after 5 months of leaving the malaria-endemic area; If you have been infected with malaria or taken antimalarial drugs, including preventive drugs, you should not donate blood until 3 years after you stop treatment and leave the affected area.
5. Drug prevention for malaria: preventive medication for persons entering malaria-endemic areas if necessary, by taking 600 mg of phosphate once every half month, orally before bedtime; Continuous use should not take for more than 4 months. If you need to continue taking, you should stop taking the drug for 2-3 months to prevent taking the medicine again.
Which populations need to focus on malaria?
At present, there are no mosquitoes in Beijing, the risk of local cases of malaria and epidemic is very small, so migrant workers and migrants travelling to and from Africa, Southeast Asia, areas with high rates of malaria outside the province and the mobile population are the focus of the malaria control population.
Malaria awareness should be done well for business, tourism and migrant workers in malaria-endemic areas such as Africa and South-East Asia, especially for those who have developed fever symptoms among returning overseas workers, businessmen and outbound tourists.
What do you need to do to travel to malaria-endemic areas such as Africa and Southeast Asia?
First of all, to understand the malaria epidemic in the destination, preventive medication: phosphate tablets, once every half month, each time 600mg before bedtime oral. Continuous use should not take for more than 4 months. If you need to continue taking, you should stop taking the drug for 2-3 months to prevent taking the medicine again.
Second, in malaria-endemic areas to prevent mosquito bites, the correct use of mosquito nets and screens, the application of mosquito repellent, long-sleeved pants in the field operations are a good way to prevent mosquito bites.
If cold, fever, headache and other symptoms, should be timely medical treatment, and take the initiative to inform the doctor travel history; In the absence of medical treatment, antimalarial experimental treatment is recommended.
Finally, some practical anti-mosquito tricks:
Clean up indoor and outdoor water in a timely manner. Do not use the flower pot buckle over, aquatic plants change water, tray bottom as soon as possible to pour out.
Install screens, doors, mosquito nets.
Correct use of mosquito incense and aerosol, mosquito incense placed in the room wind direction, aerosol to be sprayed at a 45 degree angle.
Orange light bulbs are installed in the home.
Take a bath frequently and keep your skin fresh. Wipe off sweat with paper towels, handkerchiefs, etc. in time after sweating.
Wear light-colored clothes outdoors, try to wear socks, and wipe anti-mosquito agents in advance.
9-10 a.m. and 5-6 p.m. are peak periods for mosquito activity, so try not to go to the grass and bushes.
Place a few boxes of unopied cool oil or feng gel in the bedroom. Point mosquito incense before the mosquito incense dripping on the appropriate amount of feng ole, can make the mosquito fragrance not annoying. Sprinkling a few drops of air oil on a mosquito net before entering the net can improve the air condition in the net and increase the effect of mosquito repellent.
Place 35ml of sugar water or beer in an empty bottle on the table or indoor mosquitoes, which smell sweet wine and drill into the bottle and become stuck to death by sugar water or beer.
Some natural plants have a resuscitation effect on mosquitoes. For example, night incense, leaf grass, pyrethroids, lemongrass oil, cilantro and vanilla alcohol.
(Source: Dongcheng Center for Disease Control and Prevention)