It is necessary to be aware that at an early stage, some symptoms can occur during pregnancy which one should not neglect, malaria symptoms may include influenza or a viral infection.
Only blood test can help to determine the type of infection.
Here are some of the list of symptoms of malaria during pregnancy:
Chills, high fever and sweating
Nausea
Cough
Headache
Vomiting
Muscle pain
Diarrhoea
Jaundice
Respiratory distress
Splenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen)
Pallor (pale appearance)
General malaise
It is very important to identify malaria during pregnancy at the earliest stages because this parasite can lead to a serious problem for the mother and the coming child.
If any of these symptoms occur, consult a professional doctor. The diagnosis can be confirmed by the detection of parasites in the blood.
The detection of disease in the early stages is the key to successful treatment, and later - the birth of a healthy baby.
In addition, diagnosing malaria prevents its further spread, because the level of its transmission from one person to another decreases. Timely medical intervention and proper care can lead to fast recovery.
Causes of malaria in pregnancy
During pregnancy, there are complex physiological changes in the body of women. There are hormonal and immunological changes and because of them, pregnant women are susceptible to various diseases.
Malaria is prevalent mainly in tropical regions. This infection spreads during the monsoon season because during this time the activity of mosquitoes increases.
The bite of infected female mosquitoes is among the main reasons of the disease. Factors such as humidity, heat and precipitation play a significant role in the occurrence and spread of malaria.
Loss of immunity is another cause of malaria, pregnancy weakens the immune system of a woman, and this makes her vulnerable to malaria.
Treatment of malaria in pregnancy
A distinctive feature of this disease in pregnancy is its extremely severe form. The level of the lethal outcome of the disease in the case of pregnant women is much higher than in other cases.
Treatment of malaria works with eliminating all the symptoms and the infection itself.
Today, medicine has modern and effective medicaments to treat the infection. In the case of pregnant women, it is important to use safe medicines, there are antimalarial medicines that are safe for pregnancy. The treatment depends on the severity of the disease.
There are also malaria prevention methods:
Use insecticide-treated mosquito nets
Do trial treatment
Wear light clothing (dark colours attract mosquitoes)
Stay in cold areas
Malaria during pregnancy is a serious illness, unfortunately, Nigeria is at risk. In Nigeria, this disease is one of the major public health problems, 97% of the population is at risk to get this illness. There are 300,000 deaths caused by malaria per year.
