Malaria and dengue are mosquito born dieses. Both dieses are quite serious because the symptoms are so similar between each of the dieses, it can be quite difficult, to make a conclusive identification without laboratory testing. Let us have a deep insight into the difference between malaria and dengue in this article.
What is Malaria?
Malaria is one type of infectious dieses caused by protozoan parasite belonging to the Plasmodium family and is transmitted by the bite of the Anopheles mosquito or transfusion or by an infected needle.What is Dengue?
Dengue is one type of infectious dieses caused by a mosquito-borne viral infection results in flu-like fever and illness, and at regular intervals of time, develops into a conceivably fatal complication known as severe dengue.
Difference between Malaria and Dengue :
- Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasite while Dengue is caused by a viral infection.
- Malaria is transmitted by a malarial mosquito which is active between dusk and drawn while Dengue is transmitted by the bite of Aedes aegypti mosquito which is active during the day time.
- Dengue symptoms appear 4 to 5 days after being infected whereas Malaria symptoms appear 10 to 15 days after being bitten.
- The fever of Malaria is of shorter duration whereas Dengue fever starts all of sudden and lasts for a really long duration of about 7 days.
- Dengue can be examined through a chemical process such as Antigen test and Antibody test while Malaria is examined by microscopic tests of visuals of the virus.
- Symptoms of Malaria such as chill, fever, faints, headache, myalgia whereas symptoms of Dengue such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, dry cough and constipation.
- Malaria widespread in Sub Saharan Africa and Asia and Latin America and lesser in some parts of Europe and the Middle East whereas Dengue is widespread in more than hundred nations in Africa, Eastern Mediterranean and Americas, Western Pacific and South East Asia. Malaria location is rural while Dengue is a predominantly urban area.
- Malaria directly affects the Red Blood Cells or RBC on the other hand Dengue affects the platelets of RBC.
- Antimalarial drugs are available for the treatment of Malaria while there is no drug available for Dengue. It is just treated with supportive measures such as blood transfusion and fluid resuscitation.