A bite from a female Anopheles mosquito infected with the Plasmodium parasite causes malaria. The parasite invades the liver but then exits to invade and multiply within the red blood cells. Fever, chills, anemia and jaundice develop as the Plasmodium parasite leaves the red blood cells, destroying them in the process. There is medication available for this deadly disease, however, including artemisinin.
What is Malaria?
People develop malaria if they are bitten by a female mosquito infected with the Plasmodium parasite, according to "Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment" by Dr. Philip Rosenthal, professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of California. The disease is common in Africa, southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and many parts of Central and South America, and is responsible for more than 1 million deaths every year. Most of the deaths caused by this disease are young children.
Symptoms
Four species of Plasmodium infect people, and all four cause fatigue, jaundice, anemia, a high fever, chills, sweats, a large liver and a large spleen. When an infected mosquito bites, the Plasmodium parasite leaves the mosquito through its saliva and enters the human body. It travels to the liver and matures to one form, leaves the liver and enters the red blood cells, matures to another form and multiplies, and then leaves the red blood cells, according to "The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals." People develop symptoms when the parasite leaves the red blood cells.
Artemisinin
Artemisinin comes from a plant called qing hao, also referred to as annual wormwood or sweet wormwood. It has been used in China for more than 2,000 years for fever, and as early as 1596 for malaria. The most important synthetic artemisinins that have been manufactured are dihydroa, artemether and artesunate. Compared to other anti-malarial medications, artemisinins are powerful, for they act faster to lower the fever and reduce the parasites, according to Dr. Joseph Vinetz, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of California in "Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics."
Artemisinin Dosage
For uncomplicated infections caused by the Plasmodium falciparum parasite that is resistant to an anti-malarial medication called chloroquine, people can take four tablets of Coartem two times a day for three days, according to "Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment." The Coartem tablet is composed of 120 mg of lumefantrine and 20 mg of artemether. For severe infections caused by P. falciparum, people may receive 2.4 mg of artesunate per kilogram of body weight intravenously every 12 hours for the first day, then once a day. Artemisinins are not recommended for use in the first trimester of pregnancy or in children who weigh less than 5 kg.
References
- "Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2011"; Stephen McPhee, M.D., Maxine Papadakis, M.D.; 2011
- "Goodman & Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics"; Laurence Brunton, Ph.D.; 2006
- The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Malaria
