Dengue and malaria are arthropod-borne diseases commonly found in South East Asian countries. A mosquito bite causes both diseases. They are not contagious and don’t spread from person to person. The transmission is from person to vector/mosquito to another person. Every year, both these diseases cause scores of deaths worldwide.
It is essential to know the differences between malaria and dengue to get the correct diagnosis and treatment. Below is a guide to help you understand the characteristics of malaria and dengue.
- Transmission: Dengue can spread by either the bite of infected Aedes aegypti or if an uninfected mosquito bites the infected person and then spreads it.The bite of a female anopheles mosquito transmits malaria.
- Parasite and virus: Dengue is caused by a virus. Malaria originates from a parasite.
- Time: Aedes aegypti responsible for dengue bite during the day time. The Anopheles mosquito causes malaria bites during the night time.
- Incubation: After being bitten by the infected mosquito, the incubation period for dengue ranges from three to fifteen days. For malaria, the incubation period after an infected mosquito bite is from 10 to 15 days.
- Symptoms: The symptoms of dengue are:
Sudden fever that rises quickly to as high as 104F with low heart rate (bradycardia) and low blood pressure. High fever lasts for 2 to 4 days, followed by sweating and a drop in temperature to normal for about a day. The second phase of rapid temperature rise follows the lull like the calm before the storm.
Itchy rashes all over the body except the face accompany the fever.
- Headache
- Pain in legs and joints for a few hours at the outset
- Reddening of eyes and pain in the eyes
- Loss of appetite
- Low backache
- Swollen lymph nodes of the neck and groin
- Bleeding Gums
- Swelling and reddening of palms and soles of feet is a possibility.
The symptoms of malaria are:
High fever can sometimes occur in cycles of chills, followed by fever with fatigue and sweating. These symptoms last for 6 to 12 hours.
- Vomiting
- Dry cough
- Sweating
- Faints
- Tests: Doctors diagnose dengue fever by observing typical symptoms like high fever, headache, eye pain, muscle aches, rashes. They also check the patient’s travel history to know if he was in a dengue-endemic area. It can be challenging to diagnose dengue fever due to overlapping symptoms with other viral diseases.
The doctor may order antigen test and anti-body tests to diagnose dengue.
Microscopic tests of the visuals of the virus are done to diagnose malaria. The doctor conducts a physical exam, orders blood tests, checks on your medical history and recent travel.
- Treatment: There are no specific medicines or antibiotics to treat dengue as a virus causes it. Anti-viral medications also are not effective in treating dengue. Treatment involves providing relief of symptoms like rest, fluid intake, pain relievers under a doctor’s supervision. Hospitalised patients may receive IV fluids. Patients with DHF must be closely monitored. The line of treatment usually involves oxygen, fluid administration and blood transfusion.
Chloroquine, Hydroxy-chloroquine, Doxycycline, Quinine, Malarone, Primaquine and Mefloquine are medications used to treat malaria. Though chloroquine is the preferred mode of treatment, parasites are resistant to it in many areas of the world. For chloroquine-resistant malaria, a combination of two or more anti-malaria drugs is administered.
- Prognosis: Prognosis for dengue is good. Most patients with severe symptoms fully recover within two weeks. The fatality rate for a typical dengue infection is less than 1%. However, for dengue hemorrhagic fever, the rate is 2.5%. Untreated dengue hemorrhagic fever has mortality rates between 20%-50%.
Prognosis is very good for uncomplicated malaria in case of early treatment and appropriate diagnosis. Most patients recover within 2 to 4 days of onset of treatment.
- Complications: A complication of dengue is Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). Typically, children under ten years of age are affected by DHF. It causes pain in the abdomen, hemorrhage and circulatory collapse (shock). Malaria can cause the following complications:
- Jaundice and liver failure
- Fluid build-up in lungs
- Kidney failure
- A decrease in white blood cells
- Vaccines: Dengvaxia is the only FDA approved vaccine for dengue. However, it approved for use in endemic areas on children aged 9 to 16 years, previously infected by dengue.
The RTS,S malaria vaccine is the only vaccine that can substantially reduce malaria in children. The vaccine is partially effective and needs to be used in tandem with other proven anti-malaria measures.
- Region: Dengue is endemic in Africa, the Americas, South East-Asia, Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacific.
Malaria is prevalent in many regions of Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
- Prevention: Anti-malarial drugs, together with programs to control mosquito have, to some extent, helped prevent malaria. However, the parasites also evolve to become drug assistant. So, improved diagnostics and new and effective drugs are the need of the hour.
Preventing mosquito bite is the way to prevent malaria and dengue. The use of mosquito repellants, mosquito nets, insecticides and long-sleeved clothing in areas prone to malaria can help prevent mosquito bite. Get rid of any stagnant water collected around your house or office as mosquitoes breed in standing water.
To know more about keep reading Pinay Flix.
