When summertime comes around, bug spray is a necessity. Bug spray is especially important to ward off the blood sucking parasites called mosquitos. A mosquito bite does not hurt, but it cause an itchy sensation on the skin. However, in third world countries, like Africa, a mosquito bite could lead to a deadly disease. Malaria is a disease spread by mosquitos. An individual will start to experience high fevers and chills. If left untreated, the individual could die (Heyneman, 2014). Antimalarial drugs are a type of treatment that can counteract this disease. Doxycycline is an antimalarial drug that is commonly used, however its properties distinguished this drug from other antimalarial drugs. Doxycycline is more effective for the …show more content…
Doxycycline is part of the tetracycline class of antibiotics that fights bacterial infections, like urinary tract infections. This drug is also known as a broad-spectrum antibiotic that treat all types of bacterial infections (Drugs.com, 2015). Malaria has a bacteria agent called Plasmodium falciparum that causes an individual to experience fevers and high chills. Doxycycline would be able to treat malaria because it is an antibiotic. Doxycycline is taken by mouth in the form of 50 mg, 75mg, or 100 mg capsules usually once or twice a day (Kent Pharmaceuticals, 2013). Possible side effects include nausea, vomiting, and hives. Each capsule contains 100mg doxycycline base as doxycycline hyclate (Kent Pharmaceuticals, 2013). Doxycycline must be taken at the appropriate dosage to have the most desirable effect on the body. It has the appearance of a hard gelatin capsule with opaque green cap and opaque green body with “100mg” printed in white ink (Kent Pharmaceuticals, 2013). For any antibiotic, there is a risk for antibiotic resistant bacteria. Doxycycline can also be ineffective if the bacteria starts to become …show more content…
More than 40% of the world’s children live in places where malaria is a constant threat. Most children die from malaria because they do not have access to medical treatment (Heyneman, 2014). Children under 8 years of age can take a 2.2 mg of dose twice a day. Children over 8 years can also take a 2.2 mg dose twice a day. Doxycycline can be prescribed to young or old depending on the appropriate dosage (Drugs.com, 2015).
Doxycycline and Other Antimalarial Drugs
Doxycycline is one of the antimalarial drugs used to treat malaria. However, other antimalarial drugs have also been used to treat malaria. Antimalarial drugs are used for the treatment and prevention of malaria infection. Most antimalarial drugs target the erythrocytic stage of malaria infection, which is the phase of infection that causes symptomatic illness (Travassos, 2015). Not all antimalarial drugs are 100% effective due to a high number of resistant bacteria. However, doxycycline is easily accessible and can
Doxycycline is taken daily, so it would have a long lasting effect on malaria than the other antimalarial drugs. Doxycycline specifically impaired the expression of apicoplast genes (Tan and Magil, 2010). Doxycycline is able to inhibit the process of the bacteria forming in