Difference Between Malaria And Dengue Fever
Both malaria and dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes and both have some of the symptoms which are very common. Based on these symptoms one may confuse between malaria and dengue. Only through proper examination and proper tests from the physician can identify if it is malaria or dengue. People should be aware of the basic differences between malaria and dengue so as to protect them in the right way. Dengue and malaria are endemic and is common in tropical and subtropical countries. Malaria on the other has destinations like parts of Africa, Asia, South and Central America.
Dengue is caused by one of the four types of closely related viruses. And to be specific it is caused by viruses while in malaria the parasites are responsible for the malarial fever. The four types of viruses are closely related but immunity acquired for one type of virus will not have significant effect in other virus types. In malaria the disease is caused by a unicellular parasite. Four species of parasites are plasmodium falciparum, plasmodium vivax, plasmodium malariae, plasmodium ovale. The different plasmodium types appear at different places and sometimes more than one species can occur in the same place.
Even though both dengue and malaria are mosquito borne diseases the type of carrier differs. Dengue is transmitted from an infected Aedes aegypti species of mosquito. When mosquito bites an infected person becomes carriers and starts developing that virus inside the blood. When it bites a person it gets transmitted. In malaria, the infection is transmitted via female anopheles mosquito. In general only female mosquitoes can transmit the disease by biting. Another difference is Aedes aegypti will bite only during day time while anopheles bites in the evening or in dark conditions.
In dengue the incubation period that is time gap between the mosquito bite and exposure varies between 3 to 14 days. But in malaria since the transmitters are parasites the incubation vary from one 7 to 16 days. This may be even extending to several months when the parasite's maturity increases. Even though some of the symptoms like rashes, headache, muscle pain and joint pain are common. There occurs a huge difference in fever. In dengue high fever will start after 4-7 days whereas in malaria, the fever varies in temperature. This change in temperature from chillness to high temperature, then again to sweating will make the patient feel tired.
Coming to prevention, dengue can only be prevented by protecting from mosquito bites but in malaria we have some prophylactic drugs available to develop partial immunity. For treating malarial infections, quinine was used at the earlier stage but nowadays this drug has been replaced by quinacrine, chloroquinine etc... Using repellents and medications while traveling to vulnerable areas is must in both the cases. Additionally keeping our surroundings clean by clearing all water stagnant containers, sewage tanks, and plastic materials will certainly help in multiplication of mosquitoes. Creating basic awareness including early identification of symptoms and prompt treatment can reduce the fatality rate in both the cases.