Eukaryotic parasites 3: malaria Flashcards
What type of an infection is malaria?
Blood infection
How is malaria transmitted?
By mosquitos
Is malaria transmitted by person-to-person contact?
No
Which organs can malaria affect?
Brain
Lungs
Placenta
What are the 2 main types of malaria?
P. falciparum
P. vivax
What is the most common strain of malaria?
P. falciparum
Why are 90% of all p. vivax infections in the Asia Pacific region?
Genetic mutations in the African population confer resistance to P. vivax.
Which region is most affected by malaria globally?
Sub-Saharan Africa
Which region is most affected by malaria locally?
Papua New Guinea
Which groups of people are at greatest risk from Malaria?
Young children and pregnant women
How many die from malaria each year?
1 million
How many cases of malaria are there per year?
300-500 million
What is the leading cause of childhood deaths globally?
Malaria
What is the effect of malaria in pregnancy?
Low birth weight
Miscarriages and stillbirths
What is the biggest risk factor for early infant death?
Low birth weight due to malaria infection
What are the socioeconomic impacts of malaria?
Impedes economic development
Impacts on learning and education
Compounds poverty
Mostly affects resource-poor communities
What are the obstacles to combating malaria?
No highly effective control measures available
No vaccine
Drug resistance widespread and increasing
Insecticide resistant
Economic, social and political factors
Is there cross-spread among malaria species?
No
Human malaria doesn’t infect other species and vice-versa
Which species of malaria causes the majority of severe malaria disease and death?
P. falciparum
How much of the population is at risk from P. falciparum infection?
2.2 billion
How much of the population is at risk from P. vivax infection?
2.6 billion
Which strain of malaria has a dormant liver stage?
P. vivax
What are the 4 strains of malaria?
P. falciparum
P. vivax
P. ovale
P. malariae
P. knowlesi
Which of the malaria species can actually be a zoonotic infection?
P. knowlesi
Present in macaques throughout SE Asia
How is P. falciparum transmitted?
By female Anopheles mosquitos
Does malaria have animal reservoirs?
No
At what stage in the malaria lifecycle is disease present?
During the blood stage
What is the immune response to malarai infection primarily against?
Blood stage parasites
What is involved in the immune response to blood stage malaria infections?
Both humoral and cellular responses
What is the lifecycle for the malaria parasite?
Injected as sporozoites by mosquito
Travels to liver
Matures into merozoites
Released from liver in blood cells
Matures into gametocytes in blood
Transmitted to mosquito when feeding
Matures into gamete, then zygote and then ookinete in mosquito gut
What are the clinical features of uncomplicated (mild) malaria?
Flu-like illness
Fever, headaches and malaise
What are the clinical features of severe malaria?
Severe anaemia
Cerebral complications
Respiratory distress
Which cerebral complications exist in cerebral malaria?
Coma
Convulsions
Long-term neurological deficits