Know What is Malaria.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are spread to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Hundreds of people around the world fall ill with malaria every day. Everyone knows that prevention is better than a cure, yet in our fast-paced lives, we often neglect precautions and end up contracting the disease.

Transmission

• Mosquito Bites: The primary mode of transmission is through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The mosquito becomes infected after biting a person who has malaria. The parasite then develops inside the mosquito and is transmitted to the next person the mosquito bites.

• Other Methods: While less common, malaria can also be transmitted through blood transfusions, organ transplants, sharing contaminated needles, or from a mother to her unborn baby.

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Causes of Malaria

Malaria is naturally spread by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. When an infected mosquito bites a person with malaria, the parasites are transferred to the mosquito. This mosquito then bites a healthy person, transmitting the parasites to them. The parasites develop in the person's liver for weeks, months, or even years. When they reach a certain number, malaria attacks.

If left untreated, malaria can be fatal. Children are at a higher risk of contracting the disease. Symptoms usually appear about six days after the mosquito bite, though sometimes they can take up to a year to show. The symptoms are as follows:

Fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe weakness, muscle pain, pain in the abdomen, back, and joints, cough, and anxiety. In severe cases, malaria can badly affect the nervous system. Other signs include severe body aches, skin rashes, and red spots.

If a patient shows some of these symptoms, they should see a doctor immediately. Malaria needs to be treated right away. Many other germs and diseases also have similar symptoms, which can sometimes delay a malaria diagnosis.

Prevention and Protection:

To prevent malaria, you should keep your surroundings clean, avoid sleeping in the open, use mosquito nets, apply mosquito repellent oil to your body, and wear full-sleeved shirts. It is important to note that modern malaria treatments can sometimes cause inflammation of the intestines, which can lead to the patient developing typhoid after the malaria fever subsides.

Only female mosquitoes bite humans and spread malaria. If their population is reduced, the spread of malaria will also decrease.

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A Device That Diagnoses Malaria in 5 Seconds

In 2016, a PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT in Massachusetts developed a device that can diagnose malaria in just five seconds.

The student created this device because he believes that rapid diagnosis of malaria is crucial. If the disease is diagnosed within the first 5 to 7 days, timely treatment can save the patient's life.

The device, named RAM (Rapid Assessment of Malaria), can diagnose malaria from a single drop of blood in just five seconds. Diagnosing the malaria parasite in remote, rural areas is often difficult due to the lack of modern laboratories, but with this device, a diagnosis can be made anywhere without the need for specialists.

A drop of blood is placed on the device, which provides a positive or negative result for malaria within seconds. The device is priced at just $100 to make it accessible to more people. It is battery-operated, which makes it even easier to use.

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Malaria Diagnosis, Now Through a Smartphone

A team of American students developed a smartphone application that can enable medical staff in remote areas to diagnose diseases like malaria on the spot.

Microsoft sponsored the ninth annual Imagine Cup, challenging students to create an invention that could solve difficult problems in parts of the world where immediate help is not possible.

The software created by this team requires a microscopic lens, which is now installed in almost all smartphones. Gibeau, a member of the team, says their software takes a picture of a blood sample and, after processing the data, instantly reveals whether the malaria parasite is present or not.

The test can also determine the severity of the malaria and how it can be treated. He mentioned that they will continue to innovate their software to provide the best information about various diseases to a nurse or doctor in a remote area of Africa.