Malaria

• The theme for 2025 is “Malaria Ends With Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite”, which urges renewed global action against malaria through innovation, collaboration, and sustained commitment.

About Malaria

• Malaria is a life-threatening febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites, transmitted through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
• The disease is not contagious, but can be spread through infected blood or contaminated needles.
• The most dangerous species are Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax.

Symptoms and Risks

• Symptoms appear 10–15 days after infection and include fever, chills, and headache.
• Severe symptoms can include seizures, difficulty breathing, jaundice, dark urine, and death if untreated.
• Partial immunity can develop in endemic regions, making diagnosis difficult in some patients.

Prevention and Treatment

• Prevention includes vector control, use of mosquito nets, repellents (DEET, IR3535, Icaridin), long clothing, and chemoprophylaxis for travelers.
• Early diagnosis and treatment using microscopy or rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) is critical.
• Treatments include:
  • ACTs (Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies) for falciparum.
  • Chloroquine for vivax where effective.
  • Primaquine to prevent relapses in vivax and P. ovale infections.
• Severe malaria cases require injectable treatments in clinical settings.