Malaria Diagnosis and Treatment
Diagnosis of MalariaMalarial diagnosis involves finding the malaria parasite in the blood of the patient. This diagnosis is done on the basis of the four species of parasites, the transmission of parasites, and the symptoms experienced by the patient. The diagnostic tests used for the identification of Malaria are:
Travel History
Traveling to various countries may lead to the malarial infection. Malaria tests are not regularly practiced by most of the physicians in developed countries, so study of travel history is essential before the treatment procedure.
Blood Smears
The blood smear test is widely used in the world for the diagnosis of malaria. It helps to identify the population of malaria parasites and the stages of their growth in the blood cells. The success of this test depends upon the lab technician's skills and the time used to diagnose the blood smears. The lab technician performs this diagnosis with the help of a microscope. The test is very useful to gather comprehensive information on the Malaria parasite.
Rapid Diagnosis Tests (RDT)
These tests are more expensive than the other commonly used tests for malarial diagnosis. Strip, pad, card and dipstick are the formats of tests developed in RDT. The expenses on RDT differ according to the different tests in different countries. It is noteworthy that individuals can perform these tests after the nominal training.
Treatment of Malaria
The treatment of a malaria infected patient depends upon the stage of the infection, its severity, the health of the patient and the infected parasite's drug susceptibility. The last factor varies as per the area where the parasite has infected the people. Some of the malaria parasites are curable by various medications. However, the treatments are based on the different types of malaria parasites. The Plasmodium Falciparum infection should be treated seriously, as it can lead to the death of the patient. So these cases must be treated immediately.
The functional ability, physical capacity, weight and the age of the patient is considered before the treatment procedure. All these factors are important to determine the treatment format for the malarial infection. If the patient is a woman, and she is pregnant or the patient is suffering from a cardiac disease, these elements should be assessed before administering the anti-malarial treatment.
The treatment also differs depending on the types of malaria parasites. The four malaria parasites- P. Falciparum, P. Vivax, P. Ovale and the P. Malariae are treated differently as per their drug susceptibility and the severity of the infection. Oral drugs are used for the treatment of the most harmful infection of P. falciparum. Chloroquin drugs are mostly used in the treatments of malarial infection.
How to control (prevent) Malaria?
Medication, vaccination and self-precautions are the ways by which malaria can be controlled. Medication can be useful for the treatment of normal malarial infection. The medications are frequently changing as per the pattern of the drug resistance of malaria parasite. You can be infected by the malaria parasite, if you go to a malaria infected area. Hence, anti malarial drugs should be administered before and after traveling to the infected areas. Using nets or coils and safe clothing to avoid mosquito bites are also beneficial to prevent the malarial infection. There are many centers for the control of malaria on regional level. These centers help to make the people aware of the malarial disease and its infection.
