SEVEN THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT MALARIA

1. BEGINNING

No one knows the beginning of Malaria but earliest reports of symptoms of malaria date back to the Egyptians in 1550 BCE. Who knows, malaria may be as old as man himself, or even older.

2. THERE ARE MORE THAN 1 TYPE OF MALARIA

There are far more than 125 types of malaria parasites(plasmodium) of which only 4 species are of threat to humans. These are Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium vivax, and Plamodium ovale. 

3. ANIMALS CAN ALSO BE INFECTED.

Birds, reptiles, and various mammals can also suffer from malaria. So the next time your dog becomes dull and starts to vomit, bear in mind that it might also be having headache. LOL.

4. MOSQUITOES ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES.

Lets stop blaming mosquitoes alone. Malaria parasites starts from the liver. While in the liver, you don't get sick. Once the malaria in the liver becomes matured, it is released into the bloodstream and that is when  you start feeling sick. How does the other person get infected? If a mosquito bites an infected person, it gets the parasite too and passes it to the next person it bites. But not only mosquitoes. If you share sharp objects with an infected person, you also risk being infected. If you get transfused with the blood of an infected person, you'll get infected too. So next time you talk about malaria and you mention mosquitoes, also remember to include the rest.

4. "MALARIA" IS NOT MALARIA. 

Okay, don't get it twisted. But I mean what I mean.  Malaria is not malaria. I mean "malaria" is not a sickness caused by plasmodium. That word (malaria) means "bad air" and was derived from two Italian words , Mala(bad) and Aria(air). This is based on an early believe that malaria was caused by the bad air coming form the marsh.

5. FATHER OF MALARIA. 

Come on, every scientists deserves a title. Someone needs to take the above title. Who else is worthy of being the father of malaria if not this French army surgeon,  Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran. He broke the long believed myth that malaria is caused by bad air. He is the first man who noticed the parasites in the blood of patients suffering from malaria on November 6, 1880. This is why I dub him FATHER OF MALARIA

6. MALARIA CAN AFFECT THE LIVER AND EVEN THE BRAIN.

Malaria, if not treated for a long time might appetites. There is even a more severe complication known as cerebral malaria.  Victims of this complication may suffer from various disabilities such as epilepsy, impaired memory loss, depression and other abnormalities.  There are over 550,000 cases of cerebral malaria  every year.

7. MALARIA AND SICKLE CELL. 

Sickle cell barely suffer from the deadliest malaria "asymptomatic malaria" caused by plasmodium falciparium. This is often associated with the inability of sickle cells to get enough oxygen.

BONUS FACT

In Nigeria, malaria is considered as a normal illness. It is believed that it can't kill and If it happens that someone dies of the illness, an average Nigerian will never associate the death with malaria but with a supernatural evil.

Tell us which of these fact are new to you and which ones have you known before now. You can also add yours by commenting.