What is one of the first signs of malaria?

The time between infection and when symptoms start is normally 7 to 18 days. This depends on the specific parasite you're infected with. In some cases it can take up to a year for symptoms to develop.

The initial symptoms of malaria are flu-like and include:

• a high temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or above
• feeling hot and shivery
• headaches
• vomiting
• muscle pains
• diarrhoea
• generally feeling unwell

These symptoms are often mild. They can sometimes be difficult to identify as malaria.

With some types of malaria, the symptoms occur in 48-hour cycles. During these cycles, you feel cold at first with shivering. You then develop a high temperature, accompanied by severe sweating and fatigue. These symptoms usually last between 6 and 12 hours.

The Plasmodium falciparum parasite causes the most serious type of malaria. This type can lead to you developing severe complications without prompt treatment. These include breathing problems and organ failure.

Get immediate medical advice

You must seek medical help straight away if you become ill while travelling in an area where malaria is found, or after returning from travelling, even if you've been taking antimalarial tablets.

Malaria can get worse very quickly, so it's important that it's diagnosed and treated as soon as possible.

If you develop symptoms of malaria while still taking antimalarial tablets remember to tell your GP which type you have been taking. The same type of antimalarial should not be used to treat you as well.

If you develop symptoms after returning home, contact your GP. Tell them which countries you've travelled to in the last 12 months, and include any stopovers.

Malaria is a common infection in hot, tropical areas. Very rarely, it also can happen in temperate climates.

Malaria (muh-LAIR-ee-uh) can cause mild illness in some people and life-threatening illness in others. Proper treatment can cure malaria.

What Causes Malaria?

Malaria is caused by parasites carried by mosquitoes. The insects pick up the parasite by biting someone who already has the disease. Malaria is then passed to other people when the mosquitoes bite them.

Rarely, malaria can pass from person to person — from mother to child in "congenital malaria," or through blood transfusion, organ donation, or shared needles.

Worldwide, millions of people are infected with malaria each year. Most cases are in sub-Saharan Africa. Every year, there are about 500,000 deaths from malaria.

Malaria is rare in the United States, and most of these cases are in travelers, military personnel, and immigrants. Malaria can affect people of all ages, but young children and pregnant women are more likely to develop severe illness.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Malaria?

Early symptoms of malaria can include irritability and drowsiness, with poor appetite and trouble sleeping. These symptoms are usually followed by chills, and then a fever with fast breathing. The fever may either gradually rise over 1 to 2 days or spike very suddenly to 105°F (40.6°C) or higher. Then, as the fever ends and the person's body temperature quickly returns to normal, there is an intense episode of sweating.

The same pattern of symptoms — chills, fever, sweating — may repeat every 2 or 3 days, depending on which malaria parasite is causing the infection.

Other symptoms include headache, nausea, aches and pains all over the body (especially the back and abdomen), and an abnormally large spleen. If malaria affects the brain, someone might have seizures or loss of consciousness. The kidneys can also be affected in some cases.

How Is Malaria Diagnosed?

Doctors suspect malaria based on a person's symptoms, an exam, and where a person lives or has traveled. Doctors might take a blood sample to check under a microscope for malaria parasites, which are seen inside infected red blood cells.

In countries where the disease is seen a lot, doctors often treat people for malaria who have a fever with no obvious cause without getting lab tests results.

How Is Malaria Treated?

Malaria is treated with anti-malarial drugs given by mouth, by injection, or intravenously (into the veins). Depending on the parasite causing the malaria, a person might be treated as an outpatient over a few days or in the hospital with IV medicine.

Doctors also watch for signs of dehydration, convulsions, anemia, and other complications that can affect the brain, kidneys, or spleen. A patient may need fluids, blood transfusions, and help with breathing.

If diagnosed early and treated, malaria can usually be cured in about 2 weeks. However, many people who live in areas where malaria is common get repeated infections and never really recover between episodes of illness. Without treatment, the disease can be fatal, especially in children who are malnourished.

Can Malaria Be Prevented?

Health authorities try to prevent malaria by using mosquito-control programs aimed at killing mosquitoes that carry the disease. If you travel to an area of the world with a high risk for malaria, you can install window screens, use insect repellents, and place mosquito netting over beds. Insecticide-impregnated bed netting has successfully lowered the number of malaria deaths among African children.

Check with your doctor before visiting any tropical or subtropical area at high risk for malaria. Your doctor can give your family anti-malarial drugs to prevent the disease, which need to be taken before travel. Several malaria vaccines are being developed and tested across the world. But because the malaria parasite has a complicated life cycle, it's a hard vaccine to develop.

What is the first stage of malaria?

Can malaria go away without treatment?

What are the worst symptoms of malaria?

Can I have malaria without knowing?