What is Malaria Fever?
Malaria is a disease caused by Plasmodium parasite. This parasite transmits through mosquito bites and multiplies in the liver. Multiplication of parasites in the liver causes infection in the red blood cells which eventually results in malarial fever or malaria fever.
The key symptoms of malaria are fever, headache and vomiting. If not taken proper care and consideration, malaria can become fatal and life-threatening because the infection tends to disrupt the blood supply to vital organs. In most parts of the country, the parasites have gained resistance to a number of medicines formulated for malaria.
Key therapy for malaria is artemisinin-based combination therapy. This is the most prompt and effective treatment to control the vector mosquitoes. The resulting malaria can be classified into three types of fever, namely tertian fever, quartan fever and malignant tertian malaria. These different types of fever greatly depend on the kind of parasite causing this disease and the symptoms of the disease.
Tertian Fever is a fever caused by Plasmodium ovale or P. vivax. In such a case fever attack occurs on alternate days or every 48 hours. It is called tertian fever because the fever occurs on the third day.
Quartan Fever is caused by P. malariae. In this case, fever attack occurs after every two days or after 72 hours. It is called quartan fever because it occurs on the fourth day.
Malignant Tertian Fever is the most common kind of fever that is caused by P. falciparum. In this case, malignancy sets in and makes it the most serious type and cannot be relapsed.
The most common type of malaria infection is that of Plasmodium The other strains like Plasmodium vivax, ovale and malariae can infect the liver and persist in a dormant state for months or even years after exposure to the infection.
answered by J