Follow up on the case of the Swahili man presenting with a headache, nausea/vomiting, chills, fever, and fatigue: Thanks to everyone who participated in this scenario. Your patient is suffering from malaria, a mosquito-borne disease caused by the Plasmodium-type parasitic protozoans. Most fatal infections are caused by P. falciparum, although P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae can also cause a milder form of the disease. To read up more on the disease itself, check out this excellent article by Tulane University: tulane.edu/~wiser/malaria/ch15_draft.pdf The purpose of this case scenario was to see how many of you would look past the recent media hype being directed towards Ebola and to use the clues available to you to objectively assess this situation and effectively rule out Ebola and to consider the more likely culprit--in this case, malaria. Swahili is the official language in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and is also spoken in Rwanda, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. It is NOT a major language in Liberia, Sierra Leon or Guinea, where the 2014 Ebola outbreak is located. Remember that Africa is a continent, not a country, and is an extremely large one at that, greater in size than both the United States and China combined. Another clue to this case is that the patient works outside near a body of water, where mosquitos tend to be found. EMS treatment for patients suffering from malaria is supportive and aimed at symptom alleviation. Consider establishing an IV and administering fluids for the dehydrated patient. Because the parasite which causes malaria is found in the red blood cells of an infected person, human to human transmission usually only occurs from the sharing of needles contaminated with blood, mother to fetus transmission, or organ transplant. Necessary BSI for treating a patient with malaria includes gloves if blood is present as well as a facemask and eye protection if there is a risk of blood spray. -Rebel
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 22:32:44 +0000
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