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| Mefloquine as common anti-malarial medications |
Malaria Medications
As one of the most infectious illness in the world, malaria is carried by mosquitoes. The potential infection definitely is on tropical populations which mainly are occurred in developing countries. Although quinine has been utilized as medication since a long time ago, its production to cure another type of malaria such as falciparum malaria which demand in high amount cannot be achieved. On the other hand, the risk of developing resistance becomes another major issue to treat malaria, therefore, an alternative medications and treatments are essentially required.Malaria is caused by a microorganism called Plasmodium, and this parasite has four species which determine the type of malaria itself. The deadliest parasite is called Plasmodium falciparum whose patients are required to be treated in serious medical facilities.
Malaria Treatments
Falciparum malaria is a medical emergency that must be treated in the hospital. The type of drugs, the method of giving these drugs, and the duration of treatment time depend on where the malaria was contracted and medical conditions of the patients.The exception of falciparum is the usual medications that has been used by paramedics. The treatment for this type of malaria is commonly chloroquine (Aralen), which is given orally for three days. These bacteria could have developed resistance against chloroquine, so that treatments continue with a combination of quinine and tetracycline. In countries where quinine resistance is developing, other treatments may include clindamycin (Cleocin), mefloquin (Lariam), or sulfadoxone/ pyrimethamine (Fansidar). Most patients receive an antibiotic for seven days, while the other patients who are very ill may required treatments in intensive care and intravenous (IV) malaria treatment for the first three days.
Anyone who acquired falciparum malaria in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Central America, west of the Panama Canal, the Middle East, or Egypt can be cured by chloroquine. However, patients that are diagnosed to have falciparum malaria in Africa, South Africa, India and Southeast Asia require more intensive treatments due to the developing of resistance of chloroquine. In Thailand and Cambodia, there are strains of falciparum malaria that have some resistance to almost all known drugs.
A patient with falciparum malaria needs to be hospitalized and given antimalarial drugs in different combinations and doses depending on the resistance of the strain. The patient may need IV fluids, red blood cell transfusions, kidney dialysis, and assistance breathing.
For the other types of malaria which are caused by P. vivax and P. ovale, both of them can be treated by primaquine, and it has the ability in preventing relapses after recovery. These relapses are caused by a form of the parasite that remains in the liver and can reactivate months or years later. Another new drug, halofantrine, is available globally.
Alternative Treatments of Malaria
The Chinese herb qinghaosu (popular with the name artemisinin) has been used in China and southeast Asia to fight severe malaria, and it became available in Europe in 1994. However, the use of artemisinin often produces failures during the treatments, so it is usually combined with another antimalarial drug such as mefloquine to boost its effectiveness against malaria.A western herb called wormwood (Artemesia annua) that is taken as a daily dose can be effective against malaria. Protecting the liver with herbs like goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), Chinese golden-thread (Coptis chinensis), and milk thistle (Silybum marianum) can be used as preventive treatment. Preventing mosquitoes from biting you while in the tropics is another possible way to avoid malaria.
As of late 2002, researchers are studying a traditional African herbal remedy against malaria. Extracts from Microglossa pyrifolia, a trailing shrub belonging to the daisy family (Asterceae), show promising attribution in treating drug-resistent strains of P. falciparum.