Once the diagnostic is confirmed, a suitable medical treatment should be followed soon and should be completed. Otherwise, the disease can progress and can become more severe and also it can lead to genetic mutations in the parasite that can offer resistance to the most efficient treatment in the last 15 years, ACT. In each country the parasite genetic evolution is different, therefore the molecular resistance monitoring in each region will determine the suitable treatment for this place at this particular time.
Key points to heal people
- Education is crucial because people need to know the importance of following the directions of the experts in this disease; education fights the increase in drug resistance to the currently efficient treatments and the communities become conscious of the importance of together helping themselves to eliminate diseases
- Cooperation by selecting people in the community in charge of identifying the sick people, guide them and update the record
- Identification of people suspected of having malaria
- Pay attention soon to the person that has informed of his or her symptoms.
- facilitate diagnostic test for confirmation of the disease
- Collaboration: take into account the knowledge and resources of the community
- Coordination: provide prompt and suitable treatment for each area as it is different for each parasite species and for each person, because is different for babies under 6 months, children, adults, pregnant women and people with other diseases
- Explaining the importance of completing the treatment, at the beginning of which they can feel well, but the infection continues in the blood, the parasite becomes more resistant and the transmission to other people continues
- Explaining the effects they can feel during the treatment, such as stomach ache or vomits, so they can be aware and complete it or they go to the closest health personnel to them
- Health centres should have the suitable medicines regularly, and not just during the antimalaria campaigns
- Follow the WHO recommendations and follow the rules of each country on which treatment to administer, under medical criteria
- The WHO recommends in Africa, after confirming the diagnostic:
- for simple infections: fast-acting combination therapy, based on artemisinin (ACT)
- in areas where malaria incidence is low, add to this treatment a dose of primaquine, so that the disease does not spread
- for severe infections: injectable artesanuate at least for 24 hours and when the person can take oral medicines, complete the treatment with 3 days of ACT