What is the treatment for malaria?

Answer 1

Treatment of malaria depends on the following factors:

Type of infection.
Severity of infection.
Status of the host.
Associated conditions/ diseases.
Type of infection: Treatment obviously depends on the type of infection. Patients with P. falciparum malaria should be evaluated thoroughly in view of potential seriousness of the disease and possibility of resistance to anti malarial drugs.

P. vivax: Only Chloroquine 25 mg/kg + Primaquine for 14 days.

P. falciparum: Treat depending on severity & sensitivity. Primaquine as gametocytocidal is a must to prevent spread.

Mixed infections: Blood schizonticides as for P. falciparum and Primaquine as for P. vivax.

Severity of infection: All patients with malaria should be carefully and thoroughly assessed for complications of malaria. Acute, life-threatening complications occur only in P. falciparum malaria. Malaria is probably the only disease of its kind that can be easily treated in just 3 days, yet if the diagnosis and proper treatment are delayed, it can kill the patient very quickly and easily.

All cases of severe malaria should be presumed to have P. falciparum malaria.

If there is any uncertainty about the drug sensitivity of the parasite, it is safer to treat these cases as chloroquine resistant malaria with drugs like quinine or artemisinin.

All cases of severe malaria should be admitted to the hospital for proper evaluation, treatment and monitoring.

All cases of severe malaria should be treated with injectable antimalarials (chloroquine, quinine, artemisinin) so as to ensure adequate absorption and plasma drug levels. It is better to use two blood schizonticidal drugs, one fast acting and another slow acting, to ensure complete treatment. Newer drugs available for only oral administration (eg. Mefloquine, Halofantrine) should be avoided.

All associated conditions should be carefully assessed and treated.

Status of the host: Treatment of malaria is also dependent on host factors.

Patient's age and weight should be recorded so as to administer adequate doses of anti malarial drugs.

Functional capacity- independent, dependent, bed ridden etc. All patients with severe prostration and who are looking ill should be admitted to a hospital and monitored.

Patients with nausea and vomiting should be given anti emetic drugs to ensure adequate treatment. While high-grade fever frequently stimulates vomiting, this may be further aggravated by anti malarial drugs. Therefore it is better to avoid administration of oral antimalarials at the height of fever. One can wait for the fever to subside before taking the drugs. If the patient vomits within one hour of taking the anti malarial drugs, the same should be re-administered. In case of persistent vomiting, patient should be admitted and vomiting should be controlled with parenteral anti emetics. Parenteral anti malarials are needed only in cases of severe malaria or uncontrolled vomiting.

Adequate hydration should be ensured.

I've enclosed a link to a website that has thorough information on this.

Answer 2

Malaria can be a severe, potentially fatal disease (especially when caused by Plasmodium falciparum) and treatment should be initiated as soon as possible.

Patients who have severe P. falciparum malaria or who cannot take oral medications should be given the treatment by continuous intravenous infusion.

Most drugs used in treatment are active against the parasite forms in the blood (the form that causes disease) and include:
chloroquine
atovaquone-proguanil (Malarone®)
artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem®)
mefloquine (Lariam®)
quinine
quinidine
doxycycline (used in combination with quinine)

Answer 3

Malaria often requires treatment with medicine (antimalarial medications). Most of the time antimalarial medications effectively treat the infection; however, some malaria parasites may survive because they are in the liver or are resistant to the medication.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, no vaccine is currently available for malaria. Instead preventative drugs must be taken continuously to reduce the risk of infection. These prophylactic drug treatments are simply too expensive for most people living in endemic areas. Malaria infections are treated through the use of antimalarial drugs, such as chloroquine or pyrimethamine, although drug resistance is increasingly common.

Answer 5

Malaria can be cured with prescription drugs. The type of drugs and length of treatment depend on which kind of malaria is diagnosed, where the patient was infected, the age of the patient, whether the patient is pregnant, and how severely ill the patient is at start of treatment.

Answer 6

Depends on the type. a) Antimalarial drugs. For radical cure of Plasmodium vivax and plasmodium ovale Primaquin For the fulminant type of Plasmodium falciparum Admission to ICU. Antimalarial drugs Fluid and electrolyte balance Treat the complications like convulsions, cerebral ode ma, hypoglycemia, oliguria, etc.etc.