Sketchy Micro: Plasmodium Species

Question 1

How can you diagnose malaria?

Answer 1

Giemsa stain of blood sample (like the blood on the GEMS)

Question 2

What Plasmodium species causes malaria?

Answer 2

Plasmodium malariae (represented by the guy with stink lines… mal aria, get it?)

Question 3

What fever pattern is typical of P. malariae?

Answer 3

A quartan cycle in which people get a fever on day one and day four (represented by the four circles on the malaria man’s shirt: the first and last are red, symbolizing the fevers)

Question 4

______________ produce dormant forms in the liver – called hypnozoites.

Answer 4

P. vivax and P. ovale (like the second warlord with the AX and OVAL shield)

(Also, the oval shield has cowhide with a liver spot on it and he is hypnotizing someone into DORMANcy.)

Question 5

What fever pattern is typical of P. vivax and P. ovale?

Answer 5

A tertian cycle with a fever on day one and day three (like the hypnotic circles colored every other one)

Question 6

What fever pattern is typical of P. falciparum?

Answer 6

Irregular fevers (like the irregular border on the tunic of the man with the FALse mask)

Question 7

What organs are most affected by P. falciparum infection?

Answer 7

• Brain (like the red banana headdress)
• Lungs (like the gold plates)
• Kidneys (like the gold kidney plates)

Note: all of these develop ischemia due to occluded blood vessels.

Question 8

What drugs treat malarial infections?

Answer 8

• Chloroquine (represented by the QUeeN in multicolored dress; note, this cannot kill dormant hypnozoites, which is why she is hypnotized by the warlord)
• Primaquine (like the PRIMAl QUeeN who is not hypnotized by the warlord)
• Mefloquine (like the “ME-FLy-QUeeN” in her FLOCK of feathers; she’s also not hypnotized)
• Atovaquone (like the vampire queen)
• Proguanil (like the iguana on the vampire queen)

Question 9

Travelers are given which antimalarial medications?

Answer 9

• Mefloquine (which is why this queen has backpacks on her shade)
• Atovaquone/proguanil (again, backpacks here, too)

Question 10

P. falciparum – often the most severe kind of Plasmodium infection –usually require what kind of drugs?

Answer 10

Artemisinins (like the artist behind the man in the mask)

Question 11

Sickle cell is specifically protective against ______________.

Answer 11

P. falciparum (which is why the artist –who is nearest to the mask man –is holding a sickle)

Question 12

What two drugs are reserved for severe infections?

Answer 12

• Quinidine (DINing QUeeN in the back)
• Artesunate (the other artist)

Note: both of these drugs are given intravenously (like the ivy around them).

Question 13

Plasmodium are carried by which kind of mosquito?

Answer 13

Anopheles

Question 14

Describe the life cycle of Plasmodia.

Answer 14

• Anopheles mosquitoes carry sporozoites (like the baby mosquito on the mushrooms, collecting SPORes)
• Trophozoites travel to the liver, where they germinate inside hepatocytes (like the liver spot on the cow)
• Schizont ruptures and leads to merozoites in the bloodstream where they infect RBCs
• Trophozoite and schizont occur again in RBCs and cause more RBCs to rupture

Question 15

Mosquitoes can infect other people when they bite someone with _______________.

Answer 15

merozoites that have formed gametocytes inside RBCs

Question 16

What might you see on a blood smear of someone with malaria?

Answer 16

Rings inside erythrocytes