The malaria, also known as malariais a parasitic disease transmitted by the anopheles mosquito bite. It is a potentially serious infection that primarily affects tropical and subtropical regions of the world, including parts of Africa, South America and Asia.
Details about this disease and its recent increase in several states of Mexico are provided below.
What is malaria or malaria?
It is a parasitic disease caused by protozoa of the genus Plasmodium. These parasites are transmitted through the bite of the infected Anopheles mosquito.
Once parasites enter the human body, they lodge in the liver and then infect red blood cells, causing a variety of symptoms.
How is it transmitted?
Malaria is transmitted exclusively through the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes.
When a mosquito bites a person infected with malaria, it ingests the parasites, which then multiply in the mosquito’s body. Later, when the mosquito bites another person, it transmits the parasites through its saliva, resulting in a new infection.
What are the symptoms of malaria?
Malaria symptoms can vary in severity and may include fever, chills, fatigue, headache, profuse sweating, muscle pain, and abdominal pain.
In severe cases, malaria can lead to life-threatening complications, such as severe anemia, brain damage, and organ dysfunction.
Is it a fatal disease or what are its risks?
Malaria can be a serious disease and, in untreated or inadequately treated cases, can be fatal.
The risks of malaria include serious complications that can damage organs and endanger the patient’s life. The most vulnerable groups are young children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.
Increase in cases in Mexico
In relation to the increase in malaria cases in several states of Mexico, concern has been noted in particular in Tamaulipas and Sonora due to the detection of infected migrants.
Local health authorities have warned that there is no risk of spreading the disease to the local population, since malaria is acquired only through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito.
In the specific case of Hermosillo, it was reported that only the Aedes aegypti mosquito is found, which does not carry malaria, which reduces the risk of transmission in that region.
In Tamaulipas, during 2022, 3 imported cases of malaria were detected in Matamoros, Reynosa and San Fernando and so far this year 2023, 27 imported cases have been confirmed to date, all registered in the municipality of Matamoros, caused by the Plasmodium Vivax parasite in patients of Venezuelan origin.
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