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The disease malaria is considered a parasite - which is an organism that harms another for its own benefit, and provides no benefits to the host of the parasite.

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White - important steps
Green - questions
Blue - definitions of important vocab
Purple - important details

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Many people have the sickle cell allele (aka genotype HbAS), which causes sickle cell disease - but, it prevents malaria.
The disease causes blood cells to form into crescent shapes, which deprives the cells’ ability to transport sufficient nutrients around the world.
The sickle cell gene quickly kills the malaria, as the schizont cannot properly grow inside a nutrient-insufficient erythrocyte.

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The reproductive cells of an organism.

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This has been attempted for decades, but due to the disease being widespread and mosquito habitats being small, intervention in this manner is not as effective.

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Some symptoms of severe malaria include, but are not limited to:
1. low blood pressure
2. cerebral malaria - abnormal behavior, loss of consciousness, seizures, coma, etc.
3. Severe anemia

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The RTS vaccine is currently the only vaccine approved to partially protect children from malaria.

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A malaria clinic in Malawi, selling medications.

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Many medications, like artemether lumefantrine (AL) are retail drugs that any person can purchase, but it is reported that they are often sold out easily and expensive
Some governments are combatting this, as the Government of Lagos state in Nigeria is providing free diagnosis and treatment to all people.

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A lot of treatments for malaria are on the market, such as the drug artemether lumefantrine. Quinine is used in drug-resistant malaria.
Medicines are designed to kill malaria parasites once in the body. It does not prevent malaria before it happens.

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Since it is impossible to rid of all mosquitos, mosquito prevention is one way of reducing malaria risk.
Mosquito prevention ways include:
- mosquito tents
- repellant spray
- window screens
- long clothing, and treating clothing with permethrin (repellant) after worn

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The sporozoites burst out of the oocyst and travel to the salivary glands of the mosquito, where the cycle starts over again.

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Oocyst (red clumps) on the mosquito's midgut (blue strings)

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The ookinete now latches onto the wall of the mosquitos gut. It is now known as an oocyst, which produces new sporozoites.

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A fertilized ovum, or a fusion of two opposite-sex gametes.

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Once the gametocytes in the blood are sucked up by the next mosquito, gametocytes merge together to form male and female gametes. These fertilize together to form a zygote, which once matured, is called an ookinete.

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Sometimes, merozoites develop into a sexual form called gametocytes.
Gametocytes do not actively harm the body, and flow regularly in the bloodstream - or rather, they are dormant until sucked up by another mosquito having a blood meal.

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How does Malaria travel to the next person?

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How does Malaria travel to the next person?

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Commonly known as the red blood cell, which delivers oxygen and nutrients throughout the body.

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Most symptoms may not show up immediately, as incubation period for malaria is about 7-30 days.

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In the blood cell, the merozoites reproduce by consuming the blood's hemoglobin, which is a protein that allows blood cells to carry necessary nutrients everywhere in the body.

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Now, the malaria - in the merozoite stage - enters erythrocytes, reproducing in them like in the liver cells until they burst out, destroying the blood cell.

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After the sporozoites (now known as schizonts) reproduce in the liver cells, they burst out of the liver cells and travel in the bloodstream.
This is where they begin infecting erythrocytes.

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It's noticeable that malaria is very common in hot places, since warm/humid conditions are perfect breeding grounds for mosquitos.
Many countries that are affected by malaria are also poverty-stricken, which asks the question... (continued below)

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A type of single celled organism (eukaryote).

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Once the sporozoites enter a person’s bloodstream, they will travel to the liver, where they then enter liver cells. In the liver cells, sporozoites cannot be attacked by the immune system. This is where they first begin to reproduce.

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How does malaria react in the human body?

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How does malaria react in the human body?

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The mosquito injects its saliva while drinking blood, and sporozoites- which are in the saliva and carry the plasmodium - is injected into the bloodstream.
Now, this person has Malaria.

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Malaria symptoms come in cycles.
1. Cold cycle - shivering, chills
2. Hot stage - fever, vomiting, seizures in children
3. Sweating stage - sweats, return to normal temp, tiredness
A malaria attack usually lasts 6-10 hours.

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Merizoites bursting out of red blood cell

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Merizoites bursting causes blood cell loss, as well as a loss of oxygen and nutrients that the red blood cells carry.
This causes the blood cells to break.
This causes:
Anemia and fatigue

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To get malaria, this mosquito is a pregnant female.
It is a vector (carrier) for the parasitic protist called plasmodium falciparum. This is what causes malaria.

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Possible places include:
- large areas of Africa and Asia
- Some parts of Central America
- many other third world countries