However, since the mid 2000's, more reliable and efficient drugs, have been produced is order to combat the disease. 4 .
The disease infects both, humans and mosquitoes. The cycle begins by a female Anopheles mosquito biting a malaria infected person and carries the virus allowing it to develop inside itself. When the female mosquito needs a blood meal to be able to mature its eggs, it feeds on a human and injects the parasites in the form of sporozoites into the bloodstream. The sporozoites than travel to the liver and invade the liver cells. Within 5 to 16 days, the sporozoites grow and divide into thousands of haploid forms called merozoites. Then the merozoites make their way through out of the liver cells and re-enter the bloodstream, where they invade the red blood cells. This results in the multiplication of thousands of parasite-infected cells that asexually reproduce and take over the bloodstream, which leads to serious health effects.5 .
Fig 2: Life Cycle of Malaria .
There are many different symptoms to malaria which can vary depending on the severity of the infection. Malaria symptoms can include fever, pain or sweating that is persistent for a couple of days. In some cases malaria can also cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The damaging of the red blood cells can also lead to the yellowing of the skin as well as the sclera. In extreme cases symptoms such as seizures, liver and kidney failure and coma can be present.
Historical records have shown that malaria has been around for a very extensive period of time. Malaria is usually referred as a re-emerging disease as the frequency of the disease has dramatically increased in the last decade or so after haven sharply fallen between the 1950's and 1960's. Then, many scientists and organisations tried to conquer malaria through the use of anti malarial drugs such as chloroquire, as well as insecticides such as DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane).