Is malaria a serious illness, or is it like the common cold?
3 doctors weighed in:
Is malaria a serious illness, or is it like the common cold?
3 doctors weighed in
Dr. Michael DePietro
Internal Medicine - Pulmonary Critical Care
In brief:
Very serious
Malaria is a potentially fatal infection with a parasite that is transmitted by mosquito bite.
In brief:
Very serious
Malaria is a potentially fatal infection with a parasite that is transmitted by mosquito bite.
It can cause fever, anemia, brain swelling, lung injury and death. It is responsible for 1 million deaths a year, mostly in underdeveloped countries. This is tragic since it is treatable with support and medicine active against the parasite. It is preventable with measures to control mosquitoes.
Dr. Michael DePietro
Thank
Dr. Richard Bensinger
Ophthalmology
In brief:
Many differences
Cold is usually a contagious viral infection of the lining of the throat.
Malaria is a mosquito transmitted protozoa which causes disease of the liver and blood cells, serious fever, and can be lethal or chronic. It is a plague of the tropics and a high cause of childhood death. It is not infectious from person to person (unless they shared blood somehow). So quite different than a cold.
In brief:
Many differences
Cold is usually a contagious viral infection of the lining of the throat.
Malaria is a mosquito transmitted protozoa which causes disease of the liver and blood cells, serious fever, and can be lethal or chronic. It is a plague of the tropics and a high cause of childhood death. It is not infectious from person to person (unless they shared blood somehow). So quite different than a cold.
Dr. Richard Bensinger
Thank
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