A report on Malaria

Malaria parasite connecting to a red blood cell
Main symptoms of malaria
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.
A mosquito net in use.
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
Malaria clinic in Tanzania
Child with malaria in Ethiopia
World War II poster
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

Mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals.

- Malaria
Malaria parasite connecting to a red blood cell

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Chloroquine

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Medical quinolines
Hemozoin formation in P. falciparum: many antimalarials are strong inhibitors of hemozoin crystal growth.
Resochin tablet package

Chloroquine is a medication primarily used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to its effects.

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

Fever

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

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

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

Anopheles

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Genus of mosquito first described and named by J. W. Meigen in 1818.

Genus of mosquito first described and named by J. W. Meigen in 1818.

Anopheles egg
Anopheles larva from southern Germany, about 8 mm long
Feeding position of an Anopheles larva (A), compared to that of a nonanopheline mosquito (B)
Resting positions of adult Anopheles (A, B), compared to a nonanopheline mosquito (C)
Key to the morphology of female Anopheles

About 460 species are recognised; while over 100 can transmit human malaria, only 30–40 commonly transmit parasites of the genus Plasmodium, which cause malaria in humans in endemic areas.

Plasmodium malariae

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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 wiki

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

Blood smear showing iron-deficiency anemia, with small, pale red blood cells.

Anemia

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Blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin.

Blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin.

Blood smear showing iron-deficiency anemia, with small, pale red blood cells.
Main symptoms that may appear in anemia
The hand of a person with severe anemia (on the left, with ring) compared to one without (on the right)
Figure shows normal red blood cells flowing freely in a blood vessel. The inset image shows a cross-section of a normal red blood cell with normal hemoglobin.
Peripheral blood smear microscopy of a patient with iron-deficiency anemia
A Giemsa-stained blood film from a person with iron-deficiency anemia. This person also had hemoglobin Kenya.

Causes of increased breakdown include genetic disorders such as sickle cell anemia, infections such as malaria, and certain autoimmune diseases.

FLIT manual spray pump for insecticides from 1928

Insecticide

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Insecticides are substances used to kill insects.

Insecticides are substances used to kill insects.

FLIT manual spray pump for insecticides from 1928
Farmer spraying an insecticide on a cashewnut tree in Tanzania
Biosynthesis of antifeedants by the action of myrosinase.

It has no observable acute toxicity in rats and is approved by World Health Organization (WHO) for use in drinking water cisterns to combat malaria.

Two push-type peripheral blood smears suitable for characterization of cellular blood elements. Left smear is unstained, right smear is stained with Wright-Giemsa stain.

Blood smear

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Thin layer of blood smeared on a glass microscope slide and then stained in such a way as to allow the various blood cells to be examined microscopically.

Thin layer of blood smeared on a glass microscope slide and then stained in such a way as to allow the various blood cells to be examined microscopically.

Two push-type peripheral blood smears suitable for characterization of cellular blood elements. Left smear is unstained, right smear is stained with Wright-Giemsa stain.
Variations of red blood cell shape on blood film, overall termed poikilocytosis
Blood smears showing various developmental stages of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, stained with Wright stain and Giemsa stain

Blood smears are examined in the investigation of hematological (blood) disorders and are routinely employed to look for blood parasites, such as those of malaria and filariasis.

A mosquito coil

Insect repellent

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Substance applied to skin, clothing, or other surfaces to discourage insects (and arthropods in general) from landing or climbing on that surface.

Substance applied to skin, clothing, or other surfaces to discourage insects (and arthropods in general) from landing or climbing on that surface.

A mosquito coil
DEET
Icaridin
p-Menthane-3,8-diol (PMD)
Oil Jar in cow horn for mosquito-repelling pitch oil, a by-product of the distillation of wood tar. Carried in a leather strap on a belt. Råneå, Norrbotten, since 1921 in Nordiska museet, Stockholm.
Mosquito repellent made from plants

Insect repellents help prevent and control the outbreak of insect-borne (and other arthropod-bourne) diseases such as malaria, Lyme disease, dengue fever, bubonic plague, river blindness, and West Nile fever.

Ceiling hung mosquito netting.

Mosquito net

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Type of meshed curtain that is circumferentially draped over a bed or a sleeping area, to offer the sleeper barrier protection against bites and stings from mosquitos, flies, and other pest insects, and thus against the diseases they may carry.

Type of meshed curtain that is circumferentially draped over a bed or a sleeping area, to offer the sleeper barrier protection against bites and stings from mosquitos, flies, and other pest insects, and thus against the diseases they may carry.

Ceiling hung mosquito netting.
Frame hung mosquito netting.
Tent made of mosquito netting.
Window with mosquito netting.
An Ethiopian mother with a long lasting insecticide-treated mosquito net.

Examples of such preventable insect-borne diseases include malaria, dengue fever, yellow fever, zika virus, Chagas disease and various forms of encephalitis, including the West Nile virus.

Figure (A) shows normal red blood cells flowing freely through a blood vessel. The inset shows a cross-section of a normal red blood cell with normal haemoglobin. Figure (B) shows abnormal, sickled red blood cells sticking at the branching point in a blood vessel. The inset image shows a cross-section of a sickle cell with long polymerized sickle haemoglobin (HbS) strands stretching and distorting the cell shape to look like a crescent moon.

Sickle cell disease

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Group of blood disorders typically inherited from a person's parents.

Group of blood disorders typically inherited from a person's parents.

Figure (A) shows normal red blood cells flowing freely through a blood vessel. The inset shows a cross-section of a normal red blood cell with normal haemoglobin. Figure (B) shows abnormal, sickled red blood cells sticking at the branching point in a blood vessel. The inset image shows a cross-section of a sickle cell with long polymerized sickle haemoglobin (HbS) strands stretching and distorting the cell shape to look like a crescent moon.
Sickle cell anaemia
Sickle cells in human blood - both normal red blood cells and sickle-shaped cells are present.
Normal blood cells next to a sickle blood cell, coloured scanning electron microscope image
Sickle cell disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.
Distribution of the sickle cell trait, shown in pink and purple
Historical distribution of malaria (no longer endemic in Europe), shown in green
Modern distribution of malaria
Base-pair substitution that causes sickle cell anemia
HBB gene (responsible for sickle cell anaemia) is located on the short (p) arm of chromosome 11 at position 15.5.
Scanning electron micrograph showing a mixture of red blood cells, some with round normal morphology, some with mild sickling showing elongation and bending
Possible advantage of being heterozygous for sickle cell anemia disease (A) vs. normal blood cell response (B) when infected with malaria
Percentage of newborns screened for sickle cell disease within Metropolitan France from 2006 to 2018
Percentage of newborns screened regionally and overall for sickle cell disease in Metropolitan France in 2018

In 1954, the protective effect against malaria of sickle cell trait was described.