World Malaria Day 2023: 7 deadly long-term effects of Malaria on your health

World Malaria Day 2023: From neurological complications to renal failure, here are long-term effects of Malaria you should know about.

Malaria is transmitted when a person is bitten by Anopheles mosquito and not from person to person like Covid or Flu. In some cases, it can also spread through blood transfusion or organ transplant. Malaria symptoms may begin around 10 days to 4 weeks after infection, although a person may start feeling ill as early as 7 days or as late as 1 year later. Fever, sweats, chills, headaches, malaise, muscles aches, nausea, and vomiting are the common symptoms of Malaria. Plasmodium is the main protozoa which gets transmitted to humans by the bite of female anopheles' mosquito. Malaria is commonly found in countries with tropical or sub-tropical climate. (Also read: World Malaria Day 2023: Can Malaria affect your heart and cause heart failure? What experts say)

World Malaria Day 2022: Yoga asanas to relieve symptoms of fever(Unsplash)

Long term or chronic complications in Malaria are not that common, however, they usually affect those who have repeated episodes of Malaria infection particularly frequent travelers to Endemic region.

Dr Anurag Aggarwal, Consultant Internal Medicine, Fortis Escorts Hospital Faridabad shares long term effects of Malaria.

MALARIA COMPLICATIONS

1. Neurological impairment: Long-term impairments of cognition, learning disabilities have been noted as long term complications of Malaria. Effect of Malaria over the brain presenting as cerebral malaria has pronounced effect on the neurological outcomes of the patients affected by the malarial parasite. Patients may suffer from tremors, imbalance while walking and may continue to have seizures due to malaria if treatment has been delayed.

2. Renal failure: Many patients suffering from Malaria present with acute renal impairment which if left untreated or delayed, can lead to permanent impairment of kidney structure reducing the renal functions of excreting urine and other wastes from the body. Such patients who suffer from prolonged impairment of renal functions may need to take special care and avoid medications that can further extend damage to already affected kidneys.

3. Tropical splenegaly syndrome: Repeated malarial infections in certain parts of the world like in Africa and South East Asia, there is immunological overstimulation of the spleen causing it to increase to massive size and can even lead to rupture in some cases. Tropical Splenomegaly Syndrome is characterized by massive splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, marked elevations in levels of serum IgM and anti-malarial antibodies. This can lead to low blood levels and generalised weakness and easy fatiguability reducing quality of life and in case of rupture can also lead to mortality.

4. Malaria in pregnancy: Malaria in pregnancy can cause long-term effects on the fetus by virtue of fetal developmental abnormalities when mother gets affected by Malaria during pregnancy. It can lead to increased pregnancy losses, low birth weight, premature delivery and other developmental abnormalities.

5. Chronic Malaria: Chronic Malaria is a long-term infection in semi-immune subjects. It is usually characterised by the absence of fever or any other acute symptoms, so that this condition has long been defined as asymptomatic carriage of Malaria parasites. Chronic presence of Malaria parasites is a cause of anaemia, predisposes to other infections, and is a common cause of maternal complications, to cite only some of the problems related to chronic malaria carriage.

Dr. Kamal Verma, Senior Consultant, Dept of Internal Medicine, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad shares other long-term effects of Malaria.

6. Malignancies: Malaria causes alteration in immune system and make body prone to infection with some viruses like EBV virus which has direct role in producing Lymphomas (i.e. Burkitt lymphoma).

7. Brain damage: In rare cases, Malaria can affect the brain. This is known as cerebral malaria which can cause your brain to swell, sometimes leading to permanent brain damage.

Here are other Malaria complications explained by Dr Verma

- Liver failure and jaundice – Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes.

- Shock – a sudden drop in blood pressure.

- Pulmonary oedema – a build-up of fluid in the lungs.

- Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)

- Low blood sugar – hypoglycemia

- Kidney failure

- Swelling and rupturing of the spleen

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