Malaria has four types, with Plasmodium vivax being the most common but rarely fatal. Plasmodium falciparum is the deadliest, causing 90% of malaria-related deaths. Symptoms include fever, headache, and body aches, and complications can be severe. There are 300-500 million cases each year, with over 1 million fatalities.
There are four distinctly different types of malaria. Plasmodium vivax is the most common type, but is rarely fatal. The rarest of all types, Plasmodium ovale, is found only in certain areas of West Africa. Plasmodium malariae has a large range but is quite rare, and Plasmodium falciparum is not only widespread but also the deadliest of the different types of malaria.
The most widespread of all, P. vivax, is found in Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and throughout India. The parasites responsible for this type of malaria can lie dormant in the liver for months or even years, making some cases difficult to diagnose because previous exposure can be overlooked once symptoms have finally developed. Some strains have become resistant to antimalarial drugs, making it increasingly difficult to treat the 70-80 million cases that develop each year.
P. ovale is the rarest of all types of malaria, found only in tropical areas of West Africa. Those bitten by mosquitoes carrying the malaria parasite can develop symptoms anytime up to four years after being bitten, as the parasites incubate in the liver before attacking red blood cells. Sometimes this variety combines with another type of malaria, causing a double infection.
It affects not only humans but also dogs, P. malariae is also quite rare. Found throughout tropical and subtropical areas of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America, it has a wide distribution area but is not particularly widespread. As with P. vivax, contracting this form of malaria rarely leads to death.
The deadliest of the different types of malaria is P. falciparum. About 90% of malaria-related deaths result from an infection of this type; death can occur as early as a few hours after exposure. With a distribution area as broad as P. malariae, there are millions of cases reported each year, mainly from Africa. Even in cases that do not lead to death, infections and symptoms are severe.
Symptoms for all forms of malaria are similar and include fever, headache, seizures, chills, body aches, sweating, vomiting, and nausea. In severe cases, the infected individual can fall into a coma. For the three less severe forms of malaria, the prognosis is generally good. Complications are typically seen in cases of P. falciparium, including liver and kidney failure, meningitis, respiratory failure or splenic rupture, and internal bleeding. There are approximately 300-500 million cases each year of all types of malaria, and more than 1 million of these are fatal.
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