Malaria what is it

When experienced together, chills and abdominal pain may be the result of a number of conditions, both bacterial and viral. Yellow fever is a serious, potentially deadly flu-like disease spread by mosquitoes. Most commercial bug repellents can cause health and environmental problems.

Learn about natural repellents that actually work. When should you break a fever, and when should you let it run its course? Here's everything you need to know about when and how to break a fever. During flu season, having a scratchy throat, body aches, or fatigue can signal the arrival of the flu virus.

Detecting early flu symptoms can help…. Learn about the causes and symptoms of the West Nile virus. When parasites grow, reproduce, or invade organ systems it results in a parasitic infection in the host. Learn how to recognize and treat a parasitic…. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Breast Cancer. Medically reviewed by Elaine K. Luo, M. What is malaria? What causes malaria? What are the symptoms of malaria? How is malaria diagnosed?

Life-threatening complications of malaria. How is malaria treated? Tips to prevent malaria. Read this next. The Top 10 Deadliest Diseases. Medically reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph.

Medically reviewed by University of Illinois. Malaria happens when a bite from the female Anopheles mosquito infects the body with Plasmodium. Only the Anopheles mosquito can transmit malaria. The successful development of the parasite within the mosquito depends on several factors, the most important being humidity and ambient temperatures.

When an infected mosquito bites a human host, the parasite enters the bloodstream and lays dormant within the liver. The host will have no symptoms for an average of The liver then releases these new malaria parasites back into the bloodstream, where they infect red blood cells and multiply further.

Some malaria parasites remain in the liver and do not circulate til later, resulting in recurrence. An unaffected mosquito acquires parasites once it feeds on a human with malaria. This restarts the cycle. The WHO strongly advise confirmation of the parasite through microscopic laboratory testing or by a rapid diagnostic test RDT , depending on the facilities available. No combination of symptoms can reliably distinguish malaria from other causes, so a parasitological test is vital for identifying and managing the disease.

The World Health Organization now recommends it for use in at risk children. An experimental study tests 56 traditional soup broths and finds that some of them contain ingredients that have antimalarial properties. Mosquitos transmit a significant number of serious diseases. Preventing them from biting is difficult, but some researchers think graphene may hold…. A new 'proof-of-concept' study shows that sniffer dogs can accurately detect malaria.

The findings could change diagnostic practices. Mosquitoes are flying insects whose bites can cause irritatin as well as spreading infectious diseases such as Zika and malaria. Not all mosquitos…. What to know about malaria. Medically reviewed by Jill Seladi-Schulman, Ph. People who have malaria usually feel very sick with a high fever and shaking chills. While the disease is uncommon in temperate climates, malaria is still common in tropical and subtropical countries.

Each year nearly million people are infected with malaria, and more than , people die of the disease. To reduce malaria infections, world health programs distribute preventive drugs and insecticide-treated bed nets to protect people from mosquito bites.

The World Health Organization has recommended a malaria vaccine for use in children who live in countries with high numbers of malaria cases. Protective clothing, bed nets and insecticides can protect you while traveling. You also can take preventive medicine before, during and after a trip to a high-risk area. Many malaria parasites have developed resistance to common drugs used to treat the disease. Some people who have malaria experience cycles of malaria "attacks.

Malaria signs and symptoms typically begin within a few weeks after being bitten by an infected mosquito. However, some types of malaria parasites can lie dormant in your body for up to a year. Talk to your doctor if you experience a fever while living in or after traveling to a high-risk malaria region. If you have severe symptoms, seek emergency medical attention. Malaria spreads when a mosquito becomes infected with the disease after biting an infected person, and the infected mosquito then bites a noninfected person.

The malaria parasites enter that person's bloodstream and travel to the liver. When the parasites mature, they leave the liver and infect red blood cells. Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite of the genus plasmodium. The parasite is transmitted to humans most commonly through mosquito bites.

Because the parasites that cause malaria affect red blood cells, people can also catch malaria from exposure to infected blood, including:.

The greatest risk factor for developing malaria is to live in or to visit areas where the disease is common. These include the tropical and subtropical regions of:. The degree of risk depends on local malaria control, seasonal changes in malaria rates and the precautions you take to prevent mosquito bites.