Both malaria and Covid-19 have similar non-specific early symptoms including fever, chills, headaches, fatigue and muscle pain. Undiagnosed and untreated malaria rapidly progresses to severe illness with a potentially fatal outcome. “We have not yet recorded any malaria patients but people with weak immune systems are the ones who will be affected more if they contract malaria. “Coughing is the one distinguishing symptom between malaria and Covid-19. When you have malaria, you do not necessarily cough, you present with symptoms like tiredness and fatigue, you have a sore throat, headaches and cold sweats,” Gavaza Mukansi, a Limpopo professional nurse told the Herald.
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Any individual experiencing fever or flu-like symptoms must be tested for malaria, especially if they reside in the malaria-risk areas of Limpopo (as well as KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga) or have travelled to a malaria-risk area, especially Mozambique, in the past six weeks. When visiting their health care provider patients should not forget to mention that they have visited a malaria-risk area. Malaria is tested through a blood smear microscopy or malaria rapid diagnostic test. If they test positive, the patient must start treatment immediately. Another health care professional from Limpopo, Tlangelani Shirinda, said malaria infected persons may also experience abdomen or muscle pain, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting.
But a sore throat and coughing remain the main indicators between the two illnesses,” she confirmed. “I would advise people who experience such symptoms to immediately visit a clinic to get tested.” Odyssean or “taxi malaria”, transmitted by hitch-hiking mosquitoes, should also be considered in a patient with unexplained fever who has not travelled to a malaria-endemic area, but is getting progressively sicker, with a low platelet count.
