Malaria is a very common disease affecting people all around the world. It has been a life threatening problem since 2700 BC. There are over 100 countries at risk for Malaria transmission, nearly half the world’s population, 3.3 billion. It is especially life threatening in Africa, where 20% of childhood deaths are due to malaria. Additionally, out of the 250 million cases each year, there are around one million deaths.
D. If any of you don’t know malaria is caused by a group of microorganisms: Plasmodia, very weird microorganisms that consist of just a single-cell, they’re parasites that completely rely on mosquitoes. II. Main Body A. Malaria always starts with an insect bite. 1. In its salivary glands, thousands of sporozoites wait until the insect penetrates your skin, immediately after invading you they head for the liver, where they quietly enter big cells and hide from the immune system.
Symptoms The characteristic symptoms of malaria are similar to those of diarrhea or flu: high fever with shivering fits, headache and aching limbs, severe sweating and dizziness. Malaria can certainly be treated if recognized early, but without treatment it can become life threatening. Incubation for the disease is four to six weeks. Should you experience cold-like symptoms during this period see a doctor immediately. Precautions Although there is no vaccine against malaria, several prophylactic medicines are available, including homeopathic ones.
Causes- Malaria fever is brought on by the nibbles from the female Anopheles mosquito, which then contaminates the body with the parasite Plasmodium. This is the main mosquito that can bring about intestinal sickness.
Thrombocytopenia is also common in malaria patients. It is common in the early stages of infection. It is normally caused by coagulation disturbances, platelet destruction by macrophages, anti-body mediated platelet destruction and platelet aggregation. Although common symptoms of thrombocytopenia include haemorrhagic incidents, this is rare in malaria and is only normally seen in conjunction with disseminated intravascular coagulation
An ideal malaria vaccine would prevent all infection by priming the immune system to destroy all parasites, whether free swimming in the blood, while in the liver, or even, theoretically, while in red blood cells. Current and future advances in understanding human immunology and the biology of the malarial parasites, many of which will be dependent on the data from the human genome sequencing projects (Lander et al 2001 and Venter et al 2001) and the malaria genome projects (Bowman et al 1999, Gardner et al 1998 and Gardner et al 1999), should allow the identification of key antigens associated with the protection and the formulation of vaccines effective in all recipients, regardless of their genetic
Introduction The burden of disease of malaria in Africa is very great even though malaria is very preventable and completely curable. Antimalarial drugs are a group of medications, either used separately or in conjunction with each other, used in the prevention and treatment of malaria. When malaria is identified and treated on time, a full recovery should be anticipated. As previously stated many antimalarial drugs not only treat but also prevent malaria however if a patient uses a certain antimalarial to prevent the disease but still gets infected the same drug should not be used to then treat the disease. The kind of antimalarial treatment and how for long you should to take it will be determined by: • the kind of malaria you contracted
As a patient, you need to have an adequate understanding of the importance of proper medication intake. Your role in patient care is under the compliance stage of the treatment process so proper monitoring of your drug intake is a responsibility you shouldn’t take for
Three skills pharmacists must have when it comes to interpersonal communication are negotiation, persuasion, and conflict resolution (“Pharmacists”). In both pharmacies and hospitals, physicians tend to disagree on how best to handle a situation. A pharmacist must be able to listen and understand all sides of a conflict and be able to find a resolution. Typically this requires working with the parties involved in the conflict and coming to an end that satisfies everyone involved. This can be quite difficult, but with the skill of persuasion, pharmacists should be able to convince both parties to change their behaviour in order to make a compromise work.
How do clinical pharmacists care for patients? Clinical pharmacists: • Provide a consistent process of patient care that ensures the appropriateness, effectiveness, and safety of the patient’s medication use. • Consult with the patient’s physician(s) and other health care provider(s) to develop and implement a medication plan that can meet the overall goals of patient care established by the health care team. • Apply specialized knowledge of the scientific and clinical use of medications, including medication action, dosing, adverse effects, and drug interactions, in performing their patient care activities in collaboration with other members of the health care team. • Call on their clinical experience to solve health problems through the rational use of medications.