Symptoms of Malaria

Malaria symptoms usually start 7 to 30 days after the bite, though some types can stay silent for months. Early symptoms look like flu, so a blood test is the only way to tell.

Common symptoms

• Fever, often with shaking chills and then heavy sweating
• Headache and body aches
• Nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite
• Tiredness and weakness
• Sometimes diarrhoea or mild cough

The typical pattern

A cycle of chills, high fever and sweating may repeat every 2 to 3 days in some types, such as vivax and malariae. In falciparum malaria the fever may be irregular and does not always follow a neat pattern.

Signs of severe malaria - go to an emergency room (112 or 102)

• Confusion, extreme drowsiness, fits or fainting
• Difficulty breathing or very fast breathing
• Very dark or reduced urine, or yellow eyes and skin
• Bleeding, or very pale skin from severe anaemia
• Persistent vomiting so that tablets cannot be kept down
• Very low blood sugar signs, such as sweating and shakiness
• Any fever in a pregnant woman or a young child

Who should get tested

Anyone with fever in a malaria area, or within a year after visiting one, should ask for a malaria test the same day. A rapid test or a blood smear gives a result within hours.

Ayurvedic view

Intermittent fever with chills is described as Vishama Jwara. This is interpretive and does not replace testing.

Symptoms in children and pregnancy

Young children may only seem very sleepy, refuse feeds, vomit or have fits with fever. Pregnant women may develop anaemia and low blood sugar quickly. Both groups need to be seen by a doctor the same day, and should not be given home remedies in place of a test.

Key point

Fever with chills in a malaria area is malaria until a test says otherwise.