Medical Staff Education
Malaria
Effective drugs for Malaria include:
Chloroquine
Quinine Sulfate
Hydroxychloroquine
A combination of Sulfadoxine and Pyrimethamine
Mefloquine
A combination of Atovaquone and Proguanil
Doxycycline
Artemisinin, a sweet wormwood extract
Primaquine is used to fight the dormant liver form, but is suggested against for pregnant or those that have a enzyme deficiency called G6PD. A test can be done to identify this deficiency.
The history of Malaria treatment is a struggle between drug-resistant parasites and the search for new drug formulas. Today doctors are focusing on a drug that combines artemisinin with other companion drugs. These types of combination drugs are more effective than individual administrations. Artemisinin acts quickly clearing away parasites making the host feel better in a shorter duration of time then traditional antibiotic treatments. This combination of drugs also reduce transmission rates reducing the amount of parasites in an individual host. Artemisinin also has few side effects and has a shorten illness period.
Symptoms for Malaria include fever, chills, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, back pain, weakness, dizziness, confusion, cough, and coma. Lab tests are necessary for malaria case confirmations.
Yellow Fever
Yellow Fever symptoms include fever, chills, headaches, muscle aches, vomiting, and backaches which appear within three to six days of the infection. Yellow fever is currently diagnosed by a blood test. After recovering from yellow fever infected individuals have reported bleeding, shock, and liver and kidney failure there fore close monitoring is suggested. As of today there are no current treatments for yellow fever, but treatment for the symptoms is suggested including re-hydration through intravenous fluids, and blood transfusions.