Malaria- Falciparum Malaria

The most common strain of malaria, falciparum malaria, must be treated in the hospital since it is considered a medical emergency. The mode of treatment including the type of drugs administered depends on the severity of the disease and the place in which the malaria was contracted. The basic treatment for all strains of malaria (except falciparum) is normally chloroquine, which is administered for 3 days by mouth. Since most falciparum strains are resistant to chloroquine, a combination of tetracycline and quinine is normally used to treat them. Other treatments for falciparum malaria include clindamycin, Lariam, and sulfadoxone drugs (Tran, Odle, & Frey, 2004). In most cases, malaria patients receive antibiotics for a period of seven days while those with serious infections may require intravenous IV malaria treatment and intensive care for the first 3 days.

Future treatment of malaria will incorporate development and use of natural compounds in the fight against the disease. Since most cases of malaria occur in poverty-stricken third world countries, various researches are being carried out on naturally occurring plant extracts to find natural remedies for these areas. For instance, various studies have shown that a combination of flavanoids and arteminisinin compounds that occur in the leaves of Artemisia annua will provide future traditional remedies for malaria (Glover, 2011). Even though there is no malaria vaccine currently, various breakthroughs have been made by scientists. The technicality that is normally experienced during the research for a viable malaria vaccine is due to the complicated life cycle of malaria parasites. However, by 2015, the World Health Organization may approve a new vaccine (RTS, S/AS01) for use....

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...nnot be transmitted offhandedly and directly from one individual to another. The disease is transmitted when a mosquito, specifically a female anopheles species, bites an infected individual then passes the illness on to the next person via the same means. However, there is also a possibility of spreading the disease via infected needles or through transfusion of blood.

Works Cited

Glover, H. (2011). Natural compounds: the future of anti-malarial treatment. Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/presscenter/pressreleases/20110321b

Steury, E. E. (2013). Malaria prevention in Zambia: A practical application of the diffusion of innovations model. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 24(2), 189–194.

Tran, M., Odle, T. G., & Frey, R. J. (2004). Malaria. Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine Vol. 4 (pp. 1278-1283). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group.