Question

Who discovered malaria parasites?
A) Sir Ronald Ross
B) Charles Laveran
C) Patrick
D) Grassi

Answer 1

The malarial parasite is the Plasmodium, a protozoan. Malaria is an ancient disease mentioned in scriptures of ancient times. The discovery of malaria was made on 20th August 1897, in Secunderabad. The term ‘agent’ should not be confused with vectors. The agent (malarial parasite ) is Plasmodium whereas the vector of malaria is a female anopheles mosquito.

Complete answer:
Sir Ronald Ross was the one to discover the malarial parasite. Sir Ronald Ross was a British medical doctor. He even received the Nobel prize for Medicine in 1902 for his work on the malarial parasite. His work earned him the honor of the first British Laurette. Sir Ronald allowed an anopheles mosquito to feed on a patient infected with the malarial parasite for four days. Then, he dissected the stomach of the mosquito and discovered the parasites present in the mosquito's guts. This proved the role of mosquitoes in the transmission of malaria from one person to the other.
A malarial parasite is transmitted by the female anopheles mosquito in the sporozoite form, which is stored in its salivary gland before being transmitted.
The life cycle of the parasite consists of the following stages:
1. Sporozoites – The major infective stage.
2. Exo Erythro Schizont present in the liver.
3. Erythro Schizont present in the red blood cells in circulation.
4. Gametocytes picked up by the mosquito during a blood meal.
The correct answer is Option A.

Note: Malaria can be transmitted only by a female anopheles mosquito. The parasite does not cause any harm to the mosquito. The parasite is picked up by the mosquito during a blood meal from an infected person.