A report on Malaria and Plasmodium ovale

Malaria parasite connecting to a red blood cell

The life cycle of malaria parasites. Sporozoites are introduced by a mosquito bite. They migrate to the liver, where they multiply into thousands of merozoites. The merozoites infect red blood cells and replicate, infecting more and more red blood cells. Some parasites form gametocytes, which are taken up by a mosquito, continuing the life cycle.

Micrograph of a placenta from a stillbirth due to maternal malaria. H&E stain. Red blood cells are anuclear; blue/black staining in bright red structures (red blood cells) indicate foreign nuclei from the parasites.

Electron micrograph of a Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cell (center), illustrating adhesion protein "knobs"

The blood film is the gold standard for malaria diagnosis.

Ring-forms and gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum in human blood

An Anopheles stephensi mosquito shortly after obtaining blood from a human (the droplet of blood is expelled as a surplus). This mosquito is a vector of malaria, and mosquito control is an effective way of reducing its incidence.

Man spraying kerosene oil in standing water, Panama Canal Zone, 1912

Walls where indoor residual spraying of DDT has been applied. The mosquitoes remain on the wall until they fall down dead on the floor.

An advertisement for quinine as a malaria treatment from 1927.

Deaths due to malaria per million persons in 2012

Past and current malaria prevalence in 2009

Ancient malaria oocysts preserved in Dominican amber

British doctor Ronald Ross received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for his work on malaria.

Chinese medical researcher Tu Youyou received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2015 for her work on the antimalarial drug artemisinin.

Artemisia annua, source of the antimalarial drug artemisinin

U.S. Marines with malaria in a field hospital on Guadalcanal, October 1942

Members of the Malaria Commission of the League of Nations collecting larvae on the Danube delta, 1929

1962 Pakistani postage stamp promoting malaria eradication program

Disability-adjusted life year for malaria per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004
no data
<10
0–100
100–500
500–1000
1000–1500
1500–2000
2000–2500
2500–2750
2750–3000
3000–3250
3250–3500
≥3500

Plasmodium ovale is a species of parasitic protozoa that causes tertian malaria in humans.

- Plasmodium ovale

Most deaths are caused by P. falciparum, whereas P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae generally cause a milder form of malaria.

- Malaria

7 related topics with Alpha

Plasmodium vivax

3 links

Protozoal parasite and a human pathogen.

This parasite is the most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring malaria.

P. vivax and P. ovale that has been sitting in EDTA for more than 30 minutes before the blood film is made will look very similar in appearance to P. malariae,[source needed] which is an important reason to warn the laboratory immediately when the blood sample is drawn so they can process the sample as soon as it arrives.

Plasmodium malariae

3 links

Geographical areas of malaria transmission

As a protist, the plasmodium is a eukaryote of the phylum Apicomplexa. Unusual characteristics of this organism in comparison to general eukaryotes include the rhoptry, micronemes, and polar rings near the apical end. The plasmodium is known best for the infection it causes, malaria.

Plasmodium malariae is a parasitic protozoan that causes malaria in humans.

P. vivax and P. ovale sitting in EDTA for more than 30 minutes before the blood film is made will look very similar in appearance to P. malariae, which is an important reason to warn the laboratory immediately when the blood sample is drawn so they can process the sample as soon as it arrives.

Plasmodium

2 links

Genus of unicellular eukaryotes that are obligate parasites of vertebrates and insects.

Plasmodium is a eukaryote but with unusual features.

Life cycle of a species that infects humans

Ring forms of Plasmodium inside human red blood cells (Giemsa stain)

Sporozoites, one of several different forms of the parasite, from a mosquito

Oldest mosquito fossil with Plasmodium dominicana, 15-20 million year old

Many birds, from raptors to passerines like the red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus), can carry malaria.

A clinic for treating human malaria in Tanzania

Over 3000 species of lizard, including the Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis), carry some 90 kinds of malaria.

The mosquito Anopheles stephensi is among the blood-feeding insects that can be infected by a species of Plasmodium.

The ensuing destruction of host red blood cells can result in malaria.

Over the course of the 20th century, many other species were discovered in various hosts and classified, including five species that regularly infect humans: P. vivax, P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, and P. knowlesi.

An analog medical thermometer showing a temperature of 38.7 °C or 101.7 °F

Fever

1 links

Defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point.

"The Sick Girl", 1882, Statens Museum for Kunst

Michael Ancher, "The Sick Girl", 1882, Statens Museum for Kunst

Different fever patterns observed in Plasmodium infections

Hyperthermia: Characterized on the left. Normal body temperature (thermoregulatory set point) is shown in green, while the hyperthermic temperature is shown in red. As can be seen, hyperthermia can be conceptualized as an increase above the thermoregulatory set point.
Hypothermia: Characterized in the center: Normal body temperature is shown in green, while the hypothermic temperature is shown in blue. As can be seen, hypothermia can be conceptualized as a decrease below the thermoregulatory set point.
Fever: Characterized on the right: Normal body temperature is shown in green. It reads "New Normal" because the thermoregulatory set point has risen. This has caused what was the normal body temperature (in blue) to be considered hypothermic.

This includes viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections—such as influenza, the common cold, meningitis, urinary tract infections, appendicitis, Lassa, COVID-19, and malaria.

Tertian fever, with a 48-hour periodicity, typical of later course malaria caused by P. falciparum, P. vivax, or P. ovale;

Primaquine

1 links

Primaquine is a medication used to treat and prevent malaria and to treat Pneumocystis pneumonia.

Specifically it is used for malaria due to Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale along with other medications and for prevention if other options cannot be used.

Plasmodium ovale curtisi

0 links

Plasmodium ovale curtisi is a subspecies of parasitic protozoa that causes tertian malaria in humans.

The subspecies was described in 2010 when it was established that the two subspecies of Plasmodium ovale, while morphologically identical are genetically distinct.

Plasmodium ovale wallikeri

0 links

Plasmodium ovale wallikeri is a subspecies of parasitic protozoa that causes tertian malaria in humans.

The subspecies was described in 2010 when it was established that the two subspecies of Plasmodium ovale, while morphologically identical are genetically distinct.