MOSQUITOES can be very deadly to Filipinos. Almost every year, dengue fever
outbreaks occur in different regions nationwide. Its carrier is the deadly mosquito.
More than 30 years ago, I watched the husband of my first degree cousin struggle for his life against malaria in a public hospital in Dipolog City. He almost lost his life in that highly desperate fight. As far as I noticed then, there was no immunization against malaria. But he lived.
Unlike dengue fever, malaria is no longer endemic in the Philippines. It is, however, unknown if the country is already malaria-free.
Malaria is caused by the parasite named Plasmodium falciparum. The parasites infect red blood cells, causing a flu-like symptom, including fever. In children and pregnant women, malarial infection can be lethal. Because of proteins that emerge at the surface of these infected blood cells, the parasite attaches itself on the inner surfaces of the blood vessels, which allows the human immune system to protect the body from symptoms. It means that the immune system can prevent symptoms from appearing, but cannot destroy the infecting agents.
Thus, even if the malarial patients no longer exhibit symptoms later on, this does not mean that the malarial infection had been eliminated. Persons infected with malaria tend to generate repeat infections, or self-infection. Moreover, latest developments in the treatment of malaria had indicated that these parasites are developing resistance to anti-malarial drugs.
An important breakthrough in serology (studies of the liquid part of the processed blood) demonstrated that malaria-infected red blood cells attached to the inner linings of the blood vessels can be destroyed. Gunjan Arora of the National Institutes of Health in Rockville (Maryland) and colleagues from other government and educational institutions observed that a good volume of the so-called Natural Killer (NK) cells, which may be stimulated through vaccination, can burst malaria-infected red blood cells with remarkable specificity. People not previously exposed to malaria are incapable of developing this defense. eLife published their report this year.
NK cells are special forms of lymphocytes, usually comprising 10 percent of all lymphocytes in the bloodstream. Normally destroy virus-infected cells and cancer cells.