Malaria symptoms usually start within 10-15 days of getting bitten by an infected mosquito. Getting tested early is important as some types of malaria can cause severe illness and death. Infants, children under 5 years, pregnant women, travellers, and people with HIV or AIDS are at higher risk. Severe symptoms include extreme tiredness and fatigue, impaired consciousness, multiple convulsions, difficulty breathing, dark or bloody urine, jaundice, and abnormal bleeding.
People with severe symptoms should get emergency care right away. Malaria infection during pregnancy can also cause premature delivery, stillbirth, or delivery of a baby with low birth weight.
WHO recommends that all suspected cases of malaria be confirmed using parasite-based diagnostic testing. Malaria is a serious infection and requires treatment with multiple medicines. The most common medicines are Artemisinin-based combination therapy medicines like artemether-lumefantrine, artesunate+amodiaquine, artesunate+mefloquine, artesunate+sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, dihydroartemisinin+piperaquine and artesunate+pyronaridine. Primaquine should be added to the main treatment to prevent relapses of infection with the P. vivax and P. ovale parasites. In case of severe disease, people need to go to a health centre or hospital for injectable medicines.