Name:<\/p>\n
Institution:<\/p>\n
Course:<\/p>\n
Tutor:<\/p>\n
Date:<\/p>\n
Pneumococcal Infection and Malaria<\/p>\n
Question 1<\/p>\n
Pneumococcal infections are usually caused by a bacterium called Streptococcus Pneumoniae that is also commonly referred to as pneumococcus. This constitutes a gram positive coccus that in most instances inhabit the upper part of the human respiratory tract. Most infections occur during early spring or winter. Although pneumococcus hardly causes illness, it can cause pneumonia; the most dangerous of all the infections caused by the bacterium. Pneumococal pneumonia is currently considered the 6th common cause of death across the globe. In addition, the disease is considered one of the most fatal infections in the hospital setting. Individuals that have a weak immune system and those with chronic diseases are at a higher risk of developing the disease. This segment of the population includes individuals suffering from sickle cell, lymphoma, Hodgkin\u2019s disease and multiple myeloma. Moreover those with a non functioning spleen or those whose spleen is removed are also t risk because the spleen plays an important role in preventing the disease. <\/p>\n
In most cases, the treatment of this pnemococcal pneumonia depends on the severity of the symptoms and the cause of the disease. In general however, patients are treated using antibiotics and preferably, penicillin. For sinus and ear infections, this treatment is administered orally. However, for more severe infections, the treatment is administered intravenously. Since Pneumococci is increasingly becoming resistant to penicillin, newer quinolone antibiotics are being preferred. Currently, there are eighty different types of Pneumococcus bacteria that have been identified. Of these, twenty three are considered to be the major causes of Pneumoccocal infections. As such, the current vaccine has been developed to address the twenty three common types of infections. <\/p>\n
The vaccine is important because it helps in prevention of relative infections. After the vaccine has been injected in the body, it works by stimulating the respective immune system to produce certain antibodies that then work against the infectious pneumococcus bacteria. Usually, the vaccine is administered in liquid form through injection in the muscle of an individual. The vaccine has certain limitation that compound it\u2019s functioning in different ways. In this respect, the vaccine is not designed to protect a person against the pneumonia that is caused by other forms of bacteria. Moreover, it does not protect the body of an individual against other infections that are caused by the pneumococcal strains not included in the vaccine. Nonetheless, it is reassuring to note that a significant percentage of the infections tend o be caused by the twenty three serotypes that are covered by the vaccine. <\/p>\n
Question 2:<\/p>\n
Malaria is a preventive disease that is caused by the parasite plasmodium. There are four different types of this parasite; plasmodium vivax, malariae, ovale and falciparum. Of these four, it is widely agreed that that plasmodium falciprum is the most lethal or dangerous form of the parasite. The parasite is transmitted by the female anopheles mosquito. Usually, these mosquitoes carry the respective parasite and transfer it to human blood through their saliva when they bite them. Once in the bloodstream, the parasites travel to the liver of the individual. In the live, they get time to reproduce and then they are eventually released in the blood stream again; this time in larger numbers. When they get in the blood stream they begin causing malaria symptoms. Research indicates that malaria can also be transmitted through the process of blood transfusion. <\/p>\n
The symptoms of malaria are wide and varied and they occur either singly or in combination with other symptoms. An individual suffering form malaria experiences uncontrollable shivering that is followed by a rise in the body temperature. The patient then begins to sweat and the temperature drops. Other symptoms that might accompany this include nausea, vomiting, severe headache, fatigue and flu like symptoms. Other symptoms that might develop immediately or when the disease progresses include enlarged liver, loss of appetite, cough, orthostatis hypotension, myalgia of limbs and back, diarrhea, abdominal pain and rigors. <\/p>\n
There are various ways through which malaria can be prevented. To begin with, persons at risk can take prevent anti malarial medicine to aid in suppressing the parasite. Individuals can also wear protective clothing to prevent bites. They can use proprietary insect repellents to kill the mosquitoes and use mosquito nets to prevent bites. There are different types of drugs that are used for treating malaria. Examples include doxycycline, malarone and mefloquine. It is so hard to cure and eradicate malaria because the parasites are increasingly becoming resistant to the current medicines. In addition, other parasites such as the malariae that was considered to have been eradicated has remerged in spreading in other areas that is were not initially dominant. <\/p>\n
There are various social factors that have made it difficult to treat malaria in the recent past. To begin with, poverty and lack of financial resources make it difficult for populations to seek as well as access treatment in a timely manner. Certain cultural practices related to medication seeking also compound the treatment process. Low levels of literacy with respect to when to seek for medication also compromise treatment efforts. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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