Blog
What is Malaria? How it is spread? | Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasite
What is Malaria? How it is spread? | Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasite
What is Malaria and how it is spread? Malaria is a contagious disease which spreads because of mosquitoes. There is an estimation that nearly 20 lakh people die of Malaria every year throughout the world. Earlier it was believed that Malaria is caused by a poisonous gas which is produced in dark and moist areas. In Italy the name ‘Malaria’ meant poisonous gas. Later in 1902 Ronald Ross established that Malaria is caused by mosquitoes and was awarded the highest honour in Medicine the Nobel Prize.
This disease is caused by Plasmodium parasite. This parasite can be found in the stomach of anopheles female mosquitoes. When the female mosquito bites a person the parasites in its stomach enters the blood of the person and destroys the red blood cells. The person then suffers from fever with chilling. There is a danger of the person who contracted malaria dying because of fall in the blood red cell count and blocked veins in the brain. DDT or Kerosene should be sprayed in the standing water to kill the larvae of mosquitoes and thereby preventing Malaria. Mustard oil should be applied to the body to prevent mosquitoes from biting.
