Chemical and Biochemical History of Antimalarials: A Podium of Plasmodium Unicellular Unit

Malaria is a potentially life-threatening disease caused by infection with Plasmodium protozoa transmitted by an infective female Anopheles mosquito. Plasmodium falciparum infection carries a poor prognosis with a high mortality if untreated, but it has an excellent prognosis if diagnosed early and treated appropriately. Five species of Plasmodium can infect and be transmitted by humans. The vast majority of deaths are caused by P. falciparum and P. vivax, while P. ovale and P. malariae cause a generally milder form of malaria that is rarely fatal. Clinical symptoms include the following: Headache, Cough, Fatigue, Malaise, Shaking chills, Arthralgia, Myalgia, Paroxysm of fever, shaking chills, and sweats. Malaria is prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions because rainfall, warm temperatures, and stagnant waters provide habitats ideal for mosquito larvae. Disease transmission can be reduced by preventing mosquito bites by using mosquito nets and insect repellents, or with mosquito-control measures such as spraying insecticides and draining standing water. The mainstay of malaria diagnosis has been the microscopic examination of blood, utilizing blood films. Although blood is the sample most frequently used to make a diagnosis, both saliva and urine have been investigated as alternative, less invasive specimens. More recently, modern techniques utilizing antigen tests or polymerase chain reaction have been discovered, though these are not widely implemented in malaria endemic regions. Areas that cannot afford laboratory diagnostic tests often use only a history of subjective fever as the indication to treat for malaria. Medications that can be used for the treatment of malaria include the following: Chloroquine, Quinine, Atovaquone-proguanil, Clindamycin, Mefloquine, Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, Artemether-lumefantrine, Artesunate and other antimalarials.

Author(s): Viraj P. Jatakiya, Nadim M. R. Chhipa and Dhrubo Jyoti Sen

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