24
5.0 ASSESS AND CLASSIFY FEVER A child with fever may have malaria, measles or another severe disease. Ora child with fever may have a simple cough or cold or other viral infection.
MALARIA: Malaria is caused by four species of plasmodia transmitted through the bite
of female anopheles mosquitoes, the dangerous one being
Plasmodium falciparum.
The most common species is Plasmodium vivax. Fever is the main symptom of malaria. It can be present all the time or go away and return at regular intervals. Other signs of malaria are shivering, sweating and vomiting. Signs of malaria can overlap with signs of other illnesses. For example, a child may have malaria
and cough with fast breathing, a sign of pneumonia. This child needs treatment for both falciparum malaria and pneumonia. Children with malaria may also have diarrhoea. They need an antimalarial and treatment for the diarrhoea. In areas with very high malaria transmission, malaria is a major cause of death in children. A case of uncomplicated malaria can develop into severe malaria as soon as 24 hours after the fever first appears. Severe malaria is malaria with complications such as cerebral malaria or severe anaemia. The child can die if he does not receive urgent treatment.
Share with your friends: