One of the most serious diseases, which also threatens a pandemic, is malaria. A hundred years ago, it claimed the lives of thousands of our compatriots - an effective cure for malaria did not exist then. However, in Soviet times, malaria was able to be taken under control and even reduced to isolated cases, which immediately fell under the scrutiny of medical workers.
Malarial plasmodium, which is the causative agent of the disease, is of several types. All of them belong to the plasmodium class. In the human body, pathogens of three-day and four-day, as well as tropical malaria can parasitize. As a species, the pathogen ovale malaria, which is found in Central Africa, is isolated. All of these species have similar developmental cycles, a similar structure, only some details are different.
The malaria parasite is carried with mosquitoes that infect humans through bites. In mosquito saliva, the pathogen is in the sporozoite stage. Along with the blood stream, malarial plasmodium enters the liver tissue, where an important stage in the life of the parasite, schizogony, takes place. In humans, this period of development of plasmodium coincides with the incubation period of the disease. Schizonts develop in the liver from sporozoites - they increase in size and are actively divided into thousands of daughter cells. At the same time, the infected liver cells are destroyed, which gives certain symptoms. After the schizogony stage, parasites enter the bloodstream, where the stage continues already at the level of blood cells - erythrocyte schizogony. In this case, the malarial plasmodium absorbs hemoglobin (its component protein is globin) and continues asexual reproduction. Such a cycle in the blood can be repeated several times. Usually this happens every three to four days, which indicates the maturation of a new batch of plasmodium. The gem that remains from hemoglobin is itself a strong poison. When the red blood cell bursts and the malarial plasmodium enters the bloodstream, then free gemm comes out with it. At this time, the person carrying the parasite feels bouts of malaria fever. The most severe symptom is high fever. At this stage, a mosquito is usually infected from a sick person, and he himself becomes a carrier of the disease. The immature malarial plasmodium enters the mosquito’s stomach, where it matures, multiplies and invades under the gastric epithelium. Here the zygote increases and divides. At the end of the cycle, it bursts and spreads with blood to all organs and tissues. Most accumulates in saliva, which mosquito infects a new victim - a person. Thus, it is clear that man is only an intermediate host for plasmodium, because reproduction occurs precisely in the mosquito, which is the ultimate host.
In humans, malaria is manifested by high fever and profuse sweating. The fever lasts from six to eight hours, the patient experiences thirst, a feeling of heat, aching muscles. Fever is dangerous with high temperature indicators - up to forty-one degrees (and at forty-two, the protein coagulates in the human body and death occurs). This is the body's response to the release of toxins as a result of the activity of plasmodium and the release of heme. In connection with the three to four-day cycle of plasmodium, the temperature also jumps in accordance with the period. If there was a repeated defeat, then the high temperature keeps constantly - this is the most dangerous stage. Typically, the body quickly begins to produce antibodies.
The most dangerous tropical malaria for non-African continents - they are much more difficult to tolerate the disease due to the lack of resistance mechanism, which the African is well established.
In order not to become infected with malaria, it is necessary to avoid mosquito bites, not to be near wet areas, marshes, forest lakes, to take mechanical (nets) and chemical means (creams, sprays) to protect against mosquitoes.