World Malaria Day: Causes, Symptoms, And Prevention Tips

Every year April 25th is observed as world malaria day. The goal was celebrating this day is to promote the efforts of spreading awareness about malaria and the initiatives to control and prevent the spread of the disease. In this article, we will talk about the causes of malaria, symptoms of malaria, and some tips that can help you prevent malaria infection.

Malaria is a disease that can spread and is prominently found in the tropical or sub-tropical region that has humid environment. It spreads and affects a large community of people.

Causes of malaria:

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Malaria is caused by a parasite that enters your body.

Following are some of the commonly known ways through which malaria can spread.

Mosquito bite:

Mosquito bites are a common reason for malaria spread. If an infected mosquito bites you, there is a high chance that it will transmit the malaria parasite into your bloodstream.
The mosquito gets infected by malaria and spreads the disease when they bite different people. It is mostly by biting a person who has malaria parasite in their blood.
When this mosquito bites an uninfected person, the parasite transfers to them. This parasite travels to the liver and stays there till they mature. When they mature they infect the red blood cells and disrupt the body’s functions.
At this point, where there are malarial parasites in your body and a mosquito bites you, it can get affected.

Pregnant woman and their unborn child:

If a pregnant woman suffers from malaria then there is a high chance that the unborn child will likely suffer from it too.

Blood transfer:

For any reason, if you are injected with the blood of the infected person, you are likely to get infected by the malaria parasite. This is because the red blood cells are infected by the parasite.

Unsterilized Needles:

If the needle used on the infected person is used on another person without sterilizing then the parasite is likely to transfer to that person.

Symptoms of malaria infection:

Malaria has some major symptoms. If you see those, get yourself diagnosed immediately. If malaria is left untreated for a long it can be very harmful.

Some of the most common symptoms that malaria patients show are as follows:

High fever
Shaking chills felt throughout the body
Feeling weak and sick

Apart from this, there are other symptoms such as severe headache, vomiting, pain in body parts, coughing, and sweating.

Prevention tips:

You can take a few precautionary measures to lessen the probability of getting infected by malaria.

Wear clothes that can provide your body full coverage. It is essential if you are exposed to an area prone to mosquito and malaria disease infection is high.
Avoid traveling to areas that have high numbers of malaria cases.
Use mosquito repellent as and when needed. Use it especially if you are exposed to them.
Use the net to prevent the mosquitos from entering your surroundings, and sleep under a net.