What is malaria?
Malaria is a mosquito-borne, which starts when a female mosquito (anopheles mosquito) transfers Plasmodium parasite that travel to the liver then invading the red blood cells infecting major organs like the heart, the kidney or even the brain. The parasite has five different species: P. Vivax, P. Malariae, P. Ovale, P. Knowlesi and P. Falciparum the most deadly of the other four species. This parasite specie alone causes over 2.7 million deaths per year and in 2012 alone, death toll had reached up to 627 000 according to the estimates of the World Health Organisation.
How is malaria transmitted?
Malaria as described earlier is a mosquito-borne disease. The female anopheles mosquito is the only specie that can spread this type of parasite. The female anopheles first gets the parasites from an infected host either from a human or a primate. The mosquito from its blood meal extracts erythrocytes using its sophisticate needle like mouth called proboscis. While extracting the blood, the Plasmodium parasite that has infected the host travels to the proboscis. Hence entering the mosquito via the blood stream. The blood travels through the mosquito and ends its travel in the stomach. The parasite on the other hand, breeds and flourishes in the stomach. After the incubation period of the parasite, it bursts out from the abdomen of the mosquito to the saliva glands and waits to be released into its next victim. When the parasite infected mosquito feeds on another blood meal, the merozoites are released into the blood stream of the victim. These merozoites that are released in the blood stream travel straight to the liver without infecting any cell. In the liver the parasites breed for an incubation period of 10 days to 4 weeks. The parasites burst out of the liver rupturing it then traveling through the blood stream. P. Vivax, P. Malariae, P. Ovale, P. Knowlesi parasites take residence inside a red blood cell to breed then burst out of it again to release many more parasites. These parasites take over more blood cells until the body is infected. In the case of P. Falciparum, the merozoite releases specific amounts of protein to blend in with the red cell and not be caught. Thereafter infecting the body.
Malaria spread across the world in the same manner. The infected person travels to a mosquito prone area and then getting blood drawn by another mosquito. Hence this transmission through people infects small areas then the nation itself.
Malaria spread across the world in the same manner. The infected person travels to a mosquito prone area and then getting blood drawn by another mosquito. Hence this transmission through people infects small areas then the nation itself.