Malaria is an infection caused by several species of the Plasmodium parasite. The most common transmission vector for malaria remains the mosquito, though transmission can also occur during blood transfusions. The year 2008 saw nearly 250 million cases of malaria worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Since the virtual eradication of malaria in the U.S., most of the 1,500 cases that occur each year involve infections acquired in other countries. Stomach symptoms may precede or accompany the characteristic fever which usually marks the onset of malaria.
Prodromal Nausea and Abdominal Pain
People with malaria often experience an array of vague symptoms, including nausea, during the day or days before an attack of acute malaria. This occurs after the incubation period, which can last from nine days to several years after the initial bite, depending on the species of Plasmodium involved. People do not experience any symptoms during the incubation period, due to the low number of parasites in the blood during this phase, notes Mark. F. Wiser, author of “Protozoa and Human Disease.” Symptoms occur when a large number of the infectious parasites enter the bloodstream from bursting red blood cells, after multiplying initially in the liver.
"People who have had malaria several times will tell you that one day they will they feel nauseous and generally sick, and they'll know that an attack is coming the next day," says Wiser, an associate professor with the tropical medicine faculty at Tulane University. Other symptoms experienced during this stage, called the prodromal stage, may include abdominal pain, fatigue and headache. People often conclude that an ordinary viral flu lies behind those symptoms, until the acute phase of the disease begins, and they experience symptoms much more severe than those from a flu.
"Cold Phase" Vomiting and Nausea
Acute malaria usually involves a series of recurring paroxysmal attacks. The onset of an attack typically includes a suddenly-appearing "cold phase," during which a patient might shiver uncontrollably and the skin may grow pale and is cold to the touch. Vomiting and diarrhea may occasionally accompany this phase, notes the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
"Hot Phase" Diahrrea
A few minutes or hours after the start of the "cold stage" comes the onset of the "hot phase," with a characteristic high fever. Vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain may accompany this phase, which can last from three to six hours.
References
- Merck Manuals: Malaria
- National Insitute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: P Malaria
- " Walsh and Hoyt's Clinical Neuro-Ophthalmology, 6th Edition"; Neil R Miller, et al, Editors; 2004
- “Protozoa and Human Disease”; Mark. F. Wiser; 2010
- World Health Organisation: Malaria Fact Sheet
