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Definitions
Below is a directory of terms used to talk about malaria. Most definitions have been taken from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Healthcare poses a complex challenge for developing countries, interweaving problems of science, health and development.
R
Radical cure
Complete elimination of malaria parasites from the body; the term applies specifically to elimination of dormant liver stage parasites (hypnozoites) found in Plasmodium vivax and P ovale.
Recrudescence
A repeated attack of malaria (short term relapse or delayed), due to the survival of malaria parasites in red blood cells.
Relapse
Recurrence of disease after it has been apparently cured. In malaria, true relapses are caused by reactivation of dormant liver stage parasites (hypnozoites) found in Plasmodium vivax and P ovale.
Residual insecticide spraying
Treatment of houses by spraying insecticides that have residual efficacy (i.e., that continue to affect mosquitoes for several months). Residual insecticide spraying aims to kills mosquitoes when they come to rest on the walls, usually after a blood meal.
Resistance
The ability of an organism to develop strains that are impervious to specific threats to their existence. The malaria parasite has developed strains that are resistant to drugs such as chloroquine. The Anopheles mosquito has developed strains that are resistant to DDT and other insecticides.
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