Malaria- What it is and What Develops it

By Sara Nabil Embed from Getty Images

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the disease malaria and what it is. If you aren’t, Malaria is a disease caused by parasites like mosquitoes, mostly prevalent in tropical regions such as Indonesia, Brazil, parts of Africa, etc. However, we’re gonna go a little more into depth than that. 

Most of us have suffered from some sort of illness or disease at least once in our lives. If you are lucky enough, it could be a mere cold. Some people however, get diagnosed with more serious, lethal diseases; Malaria being one of them. Fortunately so, several scientists, extensive researchers, and doctors have come up with different types of medication that cures the disease. So while recovering might be simpler and less life-threatening, it’s still incredibly important to take serious precautions, especially when traveling to at-risk destinations.

Now that you’ve been given a little bit of background information on Malaria, it’s time to talk about how it really works. 

Say you’re at a tropical beach, just laying on a beach chair, or taking a hike in an evergreen forest, and a mosquito stings you. Ouch, right? What you might not know is that depending on the nature of the mosquito, you could be at serious risk of malaria. So, how this works is that when a certain type of mosquito called the Anopheles mosquito (which carries the disease) stings you, plasmodium sporozoite,  which is essentially the first form of malaria, gets injected into your body. Once it enters your circulatory system, it reaches for your liver, where it multiplies within a single cell, creating more of the same organism. This allows for your liver cells to be exposed to the harmful parasites, potentially causing an infection and the destruction of your liver cells, along with your red blood cells, which play a key role in your overall immune system. 

Malaria can be very serious and dangerous, given the type of malaria one might suffer from, and of course, their access to healthcare. Over the years, several preventative drugs and medications have been developed, ensuring safe and speedy recoveries. However, it’s still a major public health issue, causing over half a million people to die annually. Unlike most diseases, it’s important to take note of the fact that malaria isn’t treated by antibiotics or vaccines, as it’s not classified as a bacterium or a virus, but a protist, which is entirely different. Having malaria might look and feel brutal. Common symptoms include nausea, headaches, vomiting, and yellow discoloration around your eyes and skin, primarily known as jaundice. Several precautions can be taken in order to prevent malaria, like wearing protective clothing, using window screens, watching out for mosquitoes, and taking preventative medication as prescribed by your doctor. 

Most typical malaria cases induce speedy recoveries. Most of the time, you’ll be given a pill depending on the type and stage of infection, and sometimes you’ll need to go to a hospital to be injected with the treatment. 

Overall, I hope this article was interesting and helped you learn a thing or two about malaria! If you or someone you know may recognize these symptoms, it’s best to reach out to your health care provider or your physician in order to allow for a safe, quick recovery.

Photo via Khan Academy

About the Author

Sara is a high school student with big dreams of getting into medical school. She’s a dedicated member of her coptic orthodox church and has pursued interest in biology, along with writing, editing and vlogging on her camera. And when she’s not at school, you can usually find her in her room where she’s always listening to music or invested in a good movie. Outside of that, Sara sometimes practices chess and hopes to keep getting better at it as she goes.