Malaria

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Mosquito-borne diseases are common around the world. Mosquitos get the infectious diseases when they bite animals. Those mosquitos then are infected and spread the disease to humans. Many serious diseases such as the West Nile virus, malaria, Rift Valley fever, and dog heartworm can be passed by infected mosquitos (Day 7). Malaria is a serious, sometimes life-threatening disease common in third world countries.
Malaria is a disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes (Mayo Clinic Staff). The mosquitoes are infected with parasites (Malaria WebMD). The symptoms of malaria typically begin within a few weeks after being bitten, but in some cases could go unnoticed for an extended period of time (Mayo Clinic Staff). Symptoms of malaria include chills, fever, profuse sweating, and headache (Mayo Clinic Staff). Malaria is very common in Africa, Southern Asia, Central America, and South America (Malaria WebMD).
Malaria is caused by different variations of the parasite called Plasmodium. Two of the parasites are called Plasmodium Malariae and Plasmodium Falciparum. Some other variations of this parasite are Plasmodium Vivax and Plasmodium Ovale. There is malarial medication available. The most common drug used for treatment of malaria is called chloroquine. Recently it is has been found that Plasmodium Falciparum, the parasite that is responsible for Falciparum malaria, is resistant against chloroquine. This new development in the parasite has caused scientists and doctors to research and come up with new malaria drugs. Common in India is Artimisinin based combination therapy. In Artimisinin based combination therapy, the drugs atovaquonone, proguanil, and drug resistant reversers are used to cure the malaria in the patient. Using the ...

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Works Cited

Day, Nancy. Malaria, West Nile, and Other Mosquito-Borne Diseases. Berkeley Heights: Enslow Publishers, 2001. 1. Print.
"Malaria: Frequently Asked Questions." The Earth Institute Columbia University. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. .
"Malaria." Medecins Sans Frontieres. N.p., 2 May 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. .
"Malaria." WebMD. WebMD, 11 Apr. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. .
Mayo Clinic Staff. Mayo Clinic. N.p., 25 Jan. 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. .
Sampath, Pavitra. The Health Site. N.p., 25 Jan. 2013. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. .

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