Malaria And Dengue Fever

Malaria is an infectious disease that targets the body's red blood cells. Like dengue, malaria can be acquired from a bite of a different species of mosquito. The carrier mosquitoes of dengue are the Aedes Aegypti species, while the Anopheles species pertain to malaria. One disease is mistaken for the other because both have several common symptoms, such as: fever, muscle aches, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea and hemorrhage. But for malaria, jaundice and excessive sweating may occur. Also, the more serious symptoms for malaria are problems in the central nervous system, comatose, shock, seizures and liver or kidney failure.

Another distinction is that unlike dengue, which is viral in nature, the disease caught in malaria is due to Plasmodium parasites that undergo a complex cycle between and among the mosquitoes and humans. To illustrate, a carrier mosquito takes an initial bite on a human, wherein the parasites are left to mature; thereafter, the same or another carrier mosquito takes a second bite on the human, this time acquiring and transferring the matured parasites to the same or another human who now gets afflicted with malaria. Some common species of Plasmodium parasites are P. falciparum, P. knowlesi, P. vivax, P. malariae, and P. ovale. The first two kinds can be life-threatening wherein the second one can be found only in long-tailed and pigtail macaque monkeys. It is possible for a person to be infected with more than one species of these parasites.

Because malaria is a parasitic disease, the incubation period may last from one to three weeks, which could extend up to 10 months after the initial contamination, depending on the parasite's maturity. Some parasites could be inactive or dormant though and they could just remain in the person's red blood cells. In these instance, there occurs a condition called relapsing malaria wherein a person could get sick again even after having recovered from malaria.

A third difference relates to the geographic location of recognized contaminated areas. Dengue is prevalent in Southeast Asian countries, while malaria is endemic in Africa, Asia, Central and South America. Related to this is the time when the mosquito species usually come out. While dengue mosquitoes generally appear during day time, malaria mosquitoes show themselves at nightfall, sometimes even during dawn or dusk as well.

As for their treatment, while malaria can be cured by oral or intravenous anti-parasite drugs, dengue's management is more symptomatic as there is as yet no specific cure found for the latter. However, the medication used in malaria largely depends on where the infection was acquired and on the kind of infecting parasite.

Since the two diseases are transmitted by mosquito bites, the ways and methods of prevention and avoidance are the same for both. People are advised to avoid places with reported dengue and malaria incidence; to wear protective clothing and bed nets; to put on insect repellents; and to spray insecticides and disinfectants.