2024-08-06 20:50:44
The first malaria warning was recently issued in Seoul. Due to warmer weather than usual and increased outdoor activities, malaria patients are rapidly increasing, especially in the metropolitan area. Let’s learn about the correct understanding of malaria and how to deal with it during the peak summer vacation season.
In particular, if a child contracts malaria, the concern can grow. Professor Park Hwan-hee of the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital said, “Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito. When a mosquito infected with the parasite sucks blood from a person, the parasite enters the person’s blood and is transmitted.”
The number of malaria patients in Korea has been around 300-700 per year for the past five years. Most patients are in their 20s and 30s, but there are also 20-30 cases of pediatric patients under the age of 19 each year. The main areas of occurrence are the northern part of Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, and Gangwon Province near the Military Demarcation Line, and the area has recently expanded.
The most common malaria in our country is tertian malaria. The main symptoms are chills, high fever, and sweating that recur in 48-hour cycles. Symptoms such as headache, diarrhea, and vomiting may accompany the disease. Fortunately, the mortality rate is not high in most cases.
However, if a traveler who has visited a malaria-endemic area becomes infected with ‘tropical fever’ or ‘monkey fever’ malaria, the disease progresses rapidly and can cause fatal symptoms such as loss of consciousness, seizures, coma, multiple convulsions, metabolic acidosis, hypoglycemia, severe anemia, acute renal dysfunction, jaundice, pulmonary edema, and shock, so rapid diagnosis and treatment are important.
Malaria is diagnosed through a blood test. A rapid diagnostic test is performed first, followed by a confirmatory diagnostic test using a microscopic examination or genetic detection test.
Treatment of domestic tertian malaria is usually carried out through oral medications. In the case of children, there are drugs that require caution when used in infants under 6 months of age, so expert consultation is necessary.
Since drug resistance varies depending on the type of malaria parasite and the prevalent area, drug treatment is administered considering the countries visited and the infected area. If treatment with appropriate drugs is not received for a certain period of time, relapse may occur, so it is essential to complete the treatment period with appropriate drugs at the time of diagnosis.
Professor Park said, “There is a misconception that malaria is an infectious disease and can be transmitted from person to person, but malaria patients do not need special isolation because they cannot transmit the disease from person to person. However, since mosquitoes that bite patients with malaria can transmit the parasite to others, patients with malaria should be careful not to be bitten by mosquitoes for about three weeks.”
To prevent malaria, you should wear long-sleeved clothes and use mosquito repellent when going outdoors during the summer and evening hours when mosquitoes are active. Malaria has recently been reported not only near the Military Demarcation Line but also in some areas of central Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, so if you live in or plan to visit these areas, you should be careful.
Professor Park said, “Domestic malaria rarely becomes severe, so it is a disease that can be sufficiently managed with proper prevention and early treatment, so there is no need to be overly fearful. However, as the summer vacation season approaches and outdoor activities and overseas travel increase, please pay special attention to mosquito prevention and, if you experience any suspicious symptoms, quickly visit a medical institution for diagnosis and treatment.”
Reporter Song Chi-hoon, Donga.com [email protected]
2024-08-06 20:50:44