Plasmodium

By Coreena and Kyle

Topics Covered

• What is Malaria• The disease• How people get Malaria• Symptoms• Causes • Life cycle• Who is at risk• Complications• Prevention during travel• Prevention in Malaria area• Treating Malaria• Eradication

What is Malaria• Malaria is an infectious disease caused

by a parasite that infects a certain type of mosquito that feeds on humans.

• Four kinds of malaria parasites can infect humans:– Plasmodium falciparum– P. vivax– P. ovale– P. malariae

The Disease

• Malaria can have recurrent attacks.

• People who get Malaria are very sick with high fevers, chills , flu-like symptoms.

• Infection with P. falciparum if not treated quickly will lead to death.

• About 1,300 cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year and are usually travelers and immigrants coming from a Malaria risk area.

Where Malaria Occurs

Central and South AmericaHaiti and Dominican RepublicAfricaSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaMiddle EastOceania

How People Get Malaria

• The cause of malaria is from being bitten by an infective female Anopheles mosquito.

• Because the parasite is found in red blood cells malaria can be transmitted through blood and organ transplants, or shared needles.

• Cannot get malaria from being next to someone.

Symptoms• Flu-like illness.• Moderate to severe shaking/chills.• High fever and headache.• Profuse sweating as body temp falls.• Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.• Muscle aches and tiredness.• Anemia and jaundice.• Plasmodium falciparum, if not treated, can

cause kidney failure, seizures, mental confusion, coma and death.

Plasmodium falciparum

• The most virulent of Plasmodium spp.

• The greatest killer of humanity in the tropical zones , 50% of all malaria cases.

• Exoerythrocytic schizonts grow in liver cells but irregularly shaped.

• A schizont ruptures in 5 ½ days, and releases 30,000 merozoites.

• No true relapses but sometimes small populations can remain in red blood cells.

• Falciparum is serious and can have sever complications.

• Severe malaria develops in about 1 % of patients but causes 1 million deaths in sub-Saharan Africa.

• Sever malaria causes two main syndromes:– Anemia from destruction of red

blood cells.– Cerebral malaria from blockage of

small blood vessels.

Plasmodium vivax

• Lives the best in temperate zones .

• Most vivax malaria is found in Asia today.

• 40 % of Vietnam soldiers malaria was P. vivax.

• Natural resistance of black people to infection with this species (Duffy blood groups).

• 43 % of malaria in the world is caused by P. vivax.

• Can have relapses up to eight years after the initial infection.

Causes

• P. falciparum- this species is predominant in Africa and produces the most sever symptoms and is responsible for most malaria deaths.

• P. vivax- this species is found mostly in tropical areas of Asia. It produces less severe symptoms but can remain in you liver and cause relapses for up to four years.

Plasmodium malariae• Found worldwide and is a so called “benign

malaria”• Not as dangerous as P. falciparum or P. vivax• Causes a quartan fever• Causes chronic infection that can last a

lifetime• Sub-Saharan Africa, much of southeast Asia,

Indonesia, on many of the islands of the western Pacific and in areas of the Amazon Basin of South America

Plasmodium ovale• Causes least common form of human

malaria• Causes tertian malaria and is closely

related to P. falciparum and P. vivax, more rare and less dangerous

• West Africa, the Philippines, eastern Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea

• P. vivax and P. ovale begin to look very much like P. malariae after more than one half hour in EDTA

• P. malariae- this species is found in Africa and causes typical malaria symptoms, but if not completely treated, it can remain in your blood stream for years without producing symptoms. In this case, you can transfer the parasite to a mosquito, or to another person through a blood transfusion..

• P. ovale- this species is found mostly in West Africa. It can also remain in the liver and cause relapses for up to four years.

Causes Continued

Life Cycle:

Key Morphological Differences Between Human Plasmodium Species in Blood Smears

falciparum vivax ovale malariae numerous rings

smaller rings

no trophozoites or schizonts

cresent-shaped gametocytes

Merozoites per schizont 16-24 (up to 36)

enlarged erythrocyte

Schüffner's dots

'ameboid' trophozoite

Merozoites per schizont 14-20 (up to 24)

similar to P. vivax

compact trophozoite

fewer merozoites in schizont

elongated erythrocyte

Merozoites per schizont 6-12 (up to 18)

compact parasite

merozoites in rosette

Merozoites per schizont 8-10 (up to 12)

Who is at Risk?

• Most people who get malaria are travelers or people who live in an area with malaria transmission.

• Young children and pregnant women.

• Poor people that live in rural areas who lack knowledge, money and the access to health care.

ANYONE can get malaria but…

Complications • Most complications are associated with infection by P. falciparum.Anemia

Cerebral Malaria

Dehydration

Kidney Failure

Liver Failure Enlarg

ed Spleen

Prevention

• Antimalarial drugs.

• Use repellent-DEET .

• Wear protective clothing and head coverings.

• Netting!

• Draining breeding grounds.

Treatments…use more than one drug.

Doctors will do two blood smears to find which parasite you have.

• Chlorquine (Aralen)• Quinine Sulfate (Qualaquin)• Hydroxychloroquine

(Plaquenil)• Sulfadoxine and

Pyrimethamine (Fansidar)• Mefloquine (Lariam)• Artemisinin• Primaquine

• Which drug you take depends on the type of malaria, where you were infected, age, and how sick you were when you began treatment.

Eradication• Malaria has been eradicated

from many developed countries with temperate climates, but is a huge problem still.

• CDC is involved in:– Investigations of out breaks– Advice to international travelers– Determine country specific risks– Conduct scientific research– EDUCATION to practice

prevention and treatment!

Citations

http://www.answers.com/topic/plasmodium-malariae http://www.answers.com/topic/plasmodium-ovalehttp://dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Malaria.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/malaria/DS00475/DSECTION=tests-and-diagnosis http://www.malaria.com/info/malaria-faq.php#12 Schmidt, G. and Roberts, L. Foundations of

Parasitology, 8th ed. p134-139. McGraw Hill Companies Inc, 2009.