Contracting malaria due to mosquito bites, especially during the monsoons isn’t very uncommon. But letting that malaria take a serious form by developing into cerebral malaria can be dangerous and life threatening. Cerebral malaria occurs when the malaria-causing-parasite called Plasmodium falciparum affects the blood vessels in the brain. This leads to a complication in smooth blood flow, inflammation, swelling and ultimately results to neurological misbalance. While malaria is common and can be treated without fear, cerebral malaria is a medical emergency which needs immediate treatment. Ignorance can result to permanent neurological issues or even death.
One may now ask how the two terms malaria and cerebral malaria, which sound alike, seem alike but are still different. Regular malaria causes fever, sweating, body aches and weakness while cerebral malaria primarily affects the brain. While in the former the patient is alert , conscious and can speak, the latter may disable a person from their normal senses. In regular malaria, the patient recovers with care and time through anti-malarial treatment. But in cerebral malaria, treatment is immediate and any delay can be fatal. Malaria can be caused due to multiple parasites but cerebral malaria is almost always caused by Plasmodium falciparum.
Common signs and symptoms of cerebral malaria
In today’s world, we often tend to forget paying attention to ourselves and what the body wants to tell. This leads to several undetected illnesses which take severe form before being finally detected. For cerebral malaria too, some of the earliest symptoms include fever, headache, weakness, muscle pain etc. These are overlapping symptoms with regular malaria too. As the severity progresses one develops confused neurological behaviour, difficulty in recognizing people or speaking, drowsiness, seizures, coma, loss of appetite, breathing difficulties and more. Other simultaneous complications like anaemia, low blood sugar, kidney failure, trauma or multi-organ failure also starts developing with the condition is left undiagnosed far too long
Indian belts that are prone to cerebral malaria
Young children below five years, pregnant women, those with a weak immune system, travelers who wander around in high malaria prone zones and those who develop malaria but delay medical help are at high risk of developing cerebral malaria. India has several risk-states regions including Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, the North East Indian states, parts of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Telangana.
Precautions
While one cannot be a hundred per cent sure that they can prevent malaria, at least some precautions can be taken. First, sleep under mosquito nets, frequently use mosquito repellants on your fabric and skin, always cover your body with clothing, use window screens, and mosquito repellants at home. Immediately clear away all water-logged puddles as they are the major breeding grounds. Ensure that proper clean drainage and sewage exists around your home. If you live in a malaria-prone region and start showing symptoms around the monsoons, immediately go for a check-up.
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