What is the genus and species of malaria?
Genus = plasmodium
Species = vivax/falciparum/ovale/malariae
What is the vector for malaria?
Female anopheles mosquito
What is the 1st stage in the life cycle?
The mosquito injects the sporozoites when it bites the human
What is a sporozoite?
An immature form of the plasmodium parasite
What is the 2nd stage in the life cycle?
The sporozoites travel to the liver via the bloodstream and invade hepatocytes
What is the 3rd stage in the life cycle?
The sporozoites multiply asexually to form many merozoites, these rupture the hepatocyte and pass back into the bloodstream
What is the 4th stage in the life cycle?
The merozoites invade RBCs and multiply again, causing the RBCs to rupture, releasing more merozoites
What is the 5th stage in the life cycle?
The moerzoites can them develop into the sexual form in the RBCs, these are called gametocytes
What happens after the gametocytes are formed?
The mosquito ingest the male and female gametocytes when it bites an infected human. These will mature in the gut to form gametes.
What will happen to the gametes?
They will fuse to form a zygote which will form ookinetes which burrow into the gut wall forming oocysts
What does growth of the oocysts produce?
Thousands of merozoites into the body cavity of the mosquito when the oocyst ruptures
Where are the sporozoites stored in the mosquito?
In the salivary glands
What is the treatment for malaria?
Quinines
What are the symptoms of malaria?
Flu-like illness
Diarrhoea and vomiting
Headache
Confusion
How is malaria prevented?
Mosquito nets
Clothing
Insect repellent
Chemoprophylaxis
How is malaria diagnosed?
A thick or thin blood smear