Malaria
RUA: Dangers of Malaria
Yaidelyn Alonso
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR281 Pathophysiology I
Fall, 2014
RUA: Dangers of Malaria
Malaria is a serious and sometimes-lethal disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito, which then ultimately infects humans. Malaria causes high fever, chills and flu-like symptoms. This disease is mostly found in Africa, Southern Asia, Central America and South America. Usually, many people who travel are more predisposed to the disease and can transmit it back to their original home state.
One of the biggest risk factors in Malaria is visiting tropical areas. For example, African Countries, New Guinea and Haiti. Young children and infants are at an increased risk, usually kids five and under are at higher risk because their defenses aren’t as developed yet. Travelers coming from areas that have previously been recorded as having the infectious disease can transmit it to others as well as pregnant woman and their unborn child before or even during delivery that is considered congenital Malaria. Because Malaria is found in the red blood cells it can also be transmitted through blood transfusions, organ transplant, or shared needles, anything contaminated with the infected blood. This is why we must educate as future nurses to those countries that lack knowledge and have little or no access to healthcare, because even these people can contribute to malaria worldwide.
There are five species of parasites, which infect humans such as Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivas, P.ovale, P.malariae and P.knowlesi. All of these parasites are introduced into our red blood cells by a single bite of the mosquito. The mosquito then injects sporozoites, which are immature forms of the parasite into the bloodstream, and then they pass to the liver, which is where replication occurs, before passing back into the blood and invading the red blood cells. Merozoite is the malaria parasite that raids the red blood cells
Yaidelyn Alonso
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR281 Pathophysiology I
Fall, 2014
RUA: Dangers of Malaria
Malaria is a serious and sometimes-lethal disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito, which then ultimately infects humans. Malaria causes high fever, chills and flu-like symptoms. This disease is mostly found in Africa, Southern Asia, Central America and South America. Usually, many people who travel are more predisposed to the disease and can transmit it back to their original home state.
One of the biggest risk factors in Malaria is visiting tropical areas. For example, African Countries, New Guinea and Haiti. Young children and infants are at an increased risk, usually kids five and under are at higher risk because their defenses aren’t as developed yet. Travelers coming from areas that have previously been recorded as having the infectious disease can transmit it to others as well as pregnant woman and their unborn child before or even during delivery that is considered congenital Malaria. Because Malaria is found in the red blood cells it can also be transmitted through blood transfusions, organ transplant, or shared needles, anything contaminated with the infected blood. This is why we must educate as future nurses to those countries that lack knowledge and have little or no access to healthcare, because even these people can contribute to malaria worldwide.
There are five species of parasites, which infect humans such as Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivas, P.ovale, P.malariae and P.knowlesi. All of these parasites are introduced into our red blood cells by a single bite of the mosquito. The mosquito then injects sporozoites, which are immature forms of the parasite into the bloodstream, and then they pass to the liver, which is where replication occurs, before passing back into the blood and invading the red blood cells. Merozoite is the malaria parasite that raids the red blood cells
References: Malaria Diagnosis (United States). (2012, November 9). Retrieved September 26, 2014. Burke, D. (2012, August 15). Malaria. Retrieved September 26, 2014. About Malaria. (2010, February 8). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved June 25, 2012, from http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/index.htmlMalaria. (2012, April). World Health Organization. Retrieved June 25, 2012, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/index.htmlMalaria-Topic Overview. (2014, January 23). Retrieved September 26, 2014.