Chronic malaria is officially categorized as a rare disease in the United States. It occurs in people who have been diagnosed with acute malaria in the past. The symptoms of chronic malaria, which is generally passed through mosquitoes, involve fever, sweats, depression and delirium. The symptoms come in three stages, which may make it easier to recognize if you are, in fact, suffering from this condition.
What is Chronic Malaria?
Chronic malaria develops after a person repeatedly suffers from an acute form of malaria. Malaria is a parasitic disease, primarily spread through mosquito bites. While infected people generally have an acute form, usually falciparum malaria, chronic malaria may occur after several instances of an acute form. Officially listed as a rare disease by the Office of Rare Diseases, chronic malaria affects less than 200,000 people a year in the United States.
Symptoms
The main symptoms of malaria include spleen enlargement, emaciation, depression, yellow complexion, ankle edema, feeble digestion and weakness of muscles. All of these symptoms may occur when a person has acute malaria, but they are persistent and long-term if they are due to chronic malaria.
Stages
In addition to the general symptoms listed above, chronic malaria also presents itself in three symptomatic stages: the cold stage, the hot stage and the sweating stage. In the cold stage, one will experience a fever, chills and shaking. The hot stage follows and includes high fever, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, delirium and pain. The sweating stage involves sweating and a fall in body temperature.
When to Seek Medical Attention
Generally, people are at the highest risk for contracting malaria when traveling in foreign countries. If you have been out of the country, have not been vaccinated and experience the above symptoms, you should seek medical attention. If you have had acute malaria in the past and experience any of the stages of chronic malaria, you should seek medical attention after no less than a few days.
Treatment
The treatment for chronic malaria usually involves hospitalization. It is important to be monitored and hydrated in a hospital while recovering. There are also several medications prescribed for chronic malaria such as chloroquine, which is the least expensive and the easiest to distribute of the medications. The others most commonly prescribed are mefloquine and quinine.
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