Malaria symptoms
Malaria is an infectious disease caused by a parasite, Plasmodium, which infects red blood cells. The general malaria symptoms include:
• headache
• nausea
• fever
• vomiting and
• flu-like symptoms
It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including much of Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Americas. Malaria is prevalent in these regions because of the significant amounts of rainfall and consistent high temperatures; warm, consistent temperatures and high humidity, along with stagnant waters in which their larvae mature, provide mosquitoes with the environment needed for continuous breeding. The time it takes your symptoms to appear – the incubation period – can vary with the type of parasite that the mosquito was carrying. Four species of the parasite plasmodium are responsible for malaria in humans: Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium falciparum.