Question

Give the specific name of the malarial parasite that causes malignant malaria in humans.

Answer 1

Malignant malaria is caused by a protozoan and it is marked by the occurrence of high fever and irregular paroxysms. The protozoan can infect RBCs and can also cause a lower level of parasitemia.

Complete answer: Malignant malaria is caused by Plasmodium falciparum. It is the most common and severe infectious disease in humans. It is commonly characterized by cycles of fever after every 36-48 h. It also affects the brain and can be fatal.
The life cycle of Plasmodium falciparum are as follows-
1. The sporozoites enter into the human blood when a female Anopheles mosquito bites a person.
2. These sporozoites enter the liver and multiply in red blood cells to form merozoites.
3. Then, the trophozoite stage is developed in the RBCs when it develops a schizont.
4. Schizont further divides and forms more merozoites. When the schizont becomes mature, it bursts and releases more merozoites into the blood.
5. Due to the rupture of RBC, hemozoin is released which is responsible for fever and chills recurring after every 3-4 days.
6. Immature gametocytes are formed when some of the merozoites don’t develop into the schizont stage. The gametocytes are sucked up by the female Anopheles mosquito.
7. In the mosquito’s intestine, the male and female gametocytes fuse to form a mature infective stage known as a sporozoite.
8. These sporozoites move to the salivary glands and when the mosquito bites another human it again repeats the same cycle.

Note:Plasmodium falciparum is an obligate parasite of vertebrates and insects. The life cycle of Plasmodium involves two host-female Anopheles mosquito and human. It usually predominates in the African south of the Sahara.