Sunday, October 28, 2012

Difference between Dengue and Malaria Fever

Dengue and malaria fever are the most prevalent tropical diseases that spreads with bites of mosquitoes. Malaria is caused by the parasite named plasmodium while dengue is a viral infection. The symptoms of dengue and malaria appear similar in some aspects but certainly fever pattern in both the diseases is different from each other.

Symptoms


Dengue starts with sudden onset of fever that last for long duration (about seven days). This fever can go up to 39.5-41.4°C (103.1-106.52°F) and is accompanied by headaches and muscle or bone pain. The fever may vanish and then reoccur along with skin rashes. Other symptoms of dengue include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, pain in eyes and rashes on upper and lower limbs.
Unlike dengue, in malaria the fever is of shorter duration. The symptoms include chills, anemia, joint pain, vomiting, convulsions and sweating. Symptoms of malaria typically occurs in three stages namely, cold stage, hot stage and sweating stage, wherein sudden coldness is followed by fever and sweating.

Diagnosis


Both the diseases are been diagnosed by different procedures. Malaria is detected through microscopic visuals whereas dengue requires immune chemical investigations. Antigen and antibody tests are meant for diagnosing dengue.

Treatment


Antimalarial drugs are available for the treatment of malaria; on the contrary there is no drug available for the specific treatment of dengue. It is treated with supportive measures such as blood transfusion and fluid resuscitation.

Incubation


The incubation period of malaria is 10-15 days where as the symptoms of dengue are evident within 4-5 days of infected mosquito bite.

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