Malaria parasites could save Ebola victims

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STATES CHRONICLE – Have you ever thought that if you have a disease that could help you survive? According to a new study, people infected with the Ebola virus were 20% more likely to survive if they were infected with Malaria parasites too. The report was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. It was made by the National Institute of Health.

The researchers took 1 868 blood samples from people who might be infected with the Ebola virus. In 1 182 samples that were confirmed of having this virus, 185 were positive for the Malaria parasites too. What did they find out? More than a half of the patients that were tested lived. Most of them had also malaria in their blood. Moreover, they discovered that teenagers had a better survival rate.

Scientists think this is happening because the Plasmodium virus, which causes malaria, might suppress the immune system.  They are trying to find more evidence in order to prove their theory. If there is a connection between those diseases, this could be a really huge discovery. They could also develop new treatments for this diseases.

What do we know about malaria? It is a infectious disease due to mosquito. It can affect humans and animals. Its effects are fever, vomiting and headaches. Unfortunately, there are some people who had also seizures, coma or even died because of it.  It is diagnosed by the microscopic examination of blood. There are more ways to discover this disease, but some of them are too expensive for the areas where malaria is common. If you want to stay away from the danger, use mosquito nets and do not use standing water. However, malaria is found especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It is associated with poverty as it implies treatments and people do not want to visit those areas anymore. Most of the cases were found in Africa, where malaria is a major issue.

Ebola virus is a viral fever caused by ebolaviruses. It can affect humans and animals and it has a high risk of death. The symptoms include fever, sore throat, and headaches. Some people are bleeding both internally and externally and that is the moment when their life is in danger. This virus can be spread by contact with an infected human or animals.

We hope researchers will found out more about the connection between malaria parasites and the Ebola virus. These diseases affect people’s life every day.

Image source: Wikipedia