Malaria Flashcards
Malaria
Plasmodium
Type of organism/ pathogen
Protist
Distribution
Africa
Asia
New Guinea
South and Central America
Reasons for distribution
Rainfall
Temperature
Humidity
Who’s at risk
Young children
Pregnant women
International travellers
Immigrants
Mode of transmission
Vector
Anopheles female mosquito
Symptoms
Fever Chills Sweating Vomiting Diarrhoea headaches Stomach pain Weakness Muscle pain
If untreated Coma Brain damage Death Seizures Mental confusion Kidney failure
Diagnosis
Blood smear microscopy
Rapid immune test detect antigens
Treatment
Anti malarial drugs
Gametocytes
Sporozontocidal
Prevention
Wear long sleeves
Repellent
Insectides
Economic importance
Cost for research
Low productivity
Ecology
Zygotes of the malaria parasite develop into sporozoites in the gut of the mosquito
Sporozoites nester the bloodstream and move to the liver
The sporozoites reproduce in the liver and form merozoites
Merozoites move into the red blood cells and reproduce into gametocytes which are released into the bloodstream
The blood is sucked up by the mosquito and gametocytes travel to the gut of the mosquito where they mature into gametes and fuse into zygotes
