Malaria's Life Cycles - Essay Example

MALARIA MICROBIOLOGY [AFFILIATION] INTRODUCTION AND LIFECYCLE: Malaria is an infectious disease caused by a member of the family protozoa known as the Plasmodium vivax. This parasite effectively incorporates itself in the female anopheles mosquito. Which acts as a vector until it transmits the plasmodium in the human or animal blood. According to this explanation it can be inferred that this virus has two life cycles or more appropriately two live hosts. The parasite inhabits the erythrocytes and continues replication until the cell bursts and many new sporozites are released into the blood stream. I chose this disease for the given assignment because the disease has prominent symptoms and the causative agent is a prominent member in the field of microbiology and pathology. After completing a few stages of its life cycle in the mosquito it enter the human body and completes the remaining stages within the liver and on the surface of red blood cells as early, mid-stage and mature metazoans. The onset is indicated by sudden convulsions of cold, flu, loose motions, high grade fever, shivering and pain in eyes. Various steps have been taken by important health regulatory departments for the control of Malaria and to stop its proliferation. It not only requires a thorough attempt on behalf of the government but also general awareness on behalf of the masses. Presently a report according to UNICEF indicates a decrease in the mortality rate by 47% For general awareness, different schemes, seminars and platforms are organized for conveying the message of care and precautions. Such schemes are mostly either cheap or free of cost altogether to make possible easy access for people belonging to all walks of life. STATISTICS: “About 3.2 billion people – almost half of the worlds population – are at risk of malaria. In 2013, there were about 198 million malaria cases (with an uncertainty range of 124 million to 283 million) and an estimated 584 000 malaria deaths (with an uncertainty range of 367 000 to 755 000). Increased prevention and control measures have led to a reduction in malaria mortality rates by 47% globally since 2000 and by 54% in the WHO African Region. (WHO 2014) Population of third world countries and those even poorer are more susceptible to this disease. A survey conducted in 2013 indicated that approximately 90% of malaria inflicted deaths occurred in African/ Somalian regions and the worst part is that a vast proportion of these deaths mostly take away the lives of children below 6 years. DRUGS AND MEDICATION: A potent and 100% efficient vaccine for malaria is currently under production but the most common drugs used belong to four categories, these include quinoline containing drugs, antifolates, artemisinin containing compounds and antimicrobials. These drugs cannot fight or completely disinfect the body from the parasite. All it does is fight to alleviate the pain, not to destroy the parasitic life cycle. Therefore, two or more of these drugs are given within a dose to fight the parasite together. The overall course depends on the region of domicile of plasmodium and the intensity of symptoms. Due to negligence and shortage of time people are prone to buy ineffective or prototype medicines without any know how. Such medicines may deteriorate the conditions even further because on one hand they do not have the power to alleviate the disease and on second hand they may contain certain harmful components. Some drugs are noted to bring a considerable comfort and reduce the level of pain and suffering by measurable amounts. These drugs are Antipyretics such as acetaminophen or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). These drugs also reduce fever. Nevertheless every chemical has its side effects; likewise these drugs if consumed without care can cause bleeding disorders and hemolysis. These drugs known as antimalarials are known to cause prominent elongation of QT interval. An elongation of this interval can cause serious disorders like the deadly ventricular dysrhythmias. The medical facility in charge of such patients should regularly monitor and check the QT interval elongation. For monitoring, Electrocardiography or ECG is commonly used. If this interval is within the normal range then the patients is not susceptible to dysrhythmia. As mentioned earlier, often a patient is administered two or more drugs therefore, a lot of care is required to prevent from high or over dosage. One of such complications that may arise is Methemoglobinemia. It results from the high dosage of drugs containing quinine, chloroquinine and primaquine. A normal level of PaO2 at room temperature and cyanosis can be taken as symptoms resulting from methemoglobinemia. (MedScape- Malaria Medication). According to scientists, studying the lifecycle of the parasite has enormous significance as far as the manufacture of vaccine is concerned. If the mode of action and potential target is correctly identified then the vaccine can be manufactured. OCCURRENCE: Many easy preventive methods have been highlighted for people that live in a predominantly mosquito inhabited environment. They have been advised to sleep under mosquito nets which have been treated with an insecticide, use mosquito repellent cream, lotions or sprays; they can also make an effective use of smoke. People in Ethopia and those living in marshy places present a more viable target to Malaria. Their less than healthy conditions decrease the strength of their immune systems so much so that even minor health problems can pose life threatening situations. Many volunteer teams of health workers are usually sent to such people in order to facilitate them with modern techniques pertaining to a healthy lifestyle. It is a foremost bonding principle as has been wittingly describes in the article, to protect the rights of people who volunteer in field work especially a health related field work which involves interactions with different social groups often on a regular basis. Research primarily signifies the attainment of particular human – related objectives from a statistic view point. Hence it involves complete indulgence and utter involvement. This field is expanding rapidly but unfortunately the protection level for workers is not keeping pace. The risk for many ethical and social hurdles to prove a threat is utmost. Medical research has opened many doors for relieving a vast majority of human sickness. All of this is credited to the selfless efforts of field workers The disease shows different strengths in different age groups according to different environmental factors for example if infested in pregnant women it can cause serious damage to the mother and the fetus, while in children it is more easily treated. It largely depends on the health conditions of the locality and that of the victim. Various malaria control programs have been implemented in the era post-2000 and for this reason there has been a dramatic decrease in the incidence of malarial disease throughout the world. The mortality related to malaria has also decreased. According to the data reported recently, out of 103 countries, 59 countries that had an ongoing problem of malarial transmission have achieved or are in the process of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDF) that is aimed at reversing the malarial incidence. Out of these 59 countries, 52 are in the process of meeting World Health Assembly and Roll Back Malaria (RBM) targets that aim to reduce the incidence by 75% by the year 2015. Eight countries of the African Region are also part of this endeavor. Apart from these countries, there are another 41 states where the reported data is not applicable due to incomplete or inconsistent reporting. This prevents analysis of trends in these countries and hence it is not possible to bring forth changes in the pattern of health service use or diagnostic practice (WHO-Global Health Observatory) References MedScape. Malaria Medication. Emilio V Perez-Jorge, MD, FACP  Staff Physician, Division of Infectious Diseases, Lexington Medical Centrehttp://emedicine.medscape.com/article/221134-medication WHO- Global Health Observatory. http://www.who.int/gho/malaria/en/ World Health Organization. (2014). 10 Facts on Malaria http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/ Read More