mber of cases was reduces in many areas, they started again. Scientists today believe that malaria can never be eradicated due to the fact that the protozoan can manipulate easily and become resistant to a drug that is overused. The mosquitoes that spread malaria are also becoming resistant to insecticides. Malaria can be treated on an individual basis and treatments and medicines can be used.
To understand these treatments however, one must understand what happens to a malarial protozoan. The disease, malaria, is cause by the protozoan, Plasmodium, which lives in tropical regions all around the world. There are only four species of this protozoan that cause malaria in humans, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium falciparum. These protozoans are spread from infected to healthy people through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito, blood transfusions, or through hypodermic injections. This makes malaria one of the most easily communicable diseases in the world.
These enter red cells where both sexual and asexual cycles continue.
Malaria is spread only through the females of the 60 different types of the Anopheles mosquito, as the males do not feed on blood. The symptoms of this disease are many, however a physician must be consulted to avoid risk to a person.
To treat malaria, many drugs are used today. Forms of these drugs date back to the 1500's and 1600's. Physicians diagnose malaria by identifying Plasmodia in a patient's body. Once identified, malaria can be treated with chloroquine and primaquine. Since some forms of Plasmodia falciparum have become resistant to these, quinine, mefloquine, or halofautrine are used. Almost all of the cases of malaria can be treated if done in the proper way. However, to suffer the pain and illness of malaria, people can use many preventive measures. All swampy areas must be avoided as well as tropical water that may be contaminated or local food. People shou...