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PARASITES and RESEARCH 2
The malaria lifecycle (Image Library CDC, Center for Disease Control And Prevention, Atlanta)
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INTRODUCTION
PLASMODIUM sp. MALARIA
BALAMUTHIA MANDRILLARIS
ACANTHAMOEBA spp.
MALARIA
… is an Italian word. “mal” means bad and “aria” means air
… is a recognised human disease since over 5000 years
… came to Southern Europe from Africa via Nile valley
… enlarged spleens (probably due to malaria) have been found in Egyptian mummies
… Malaria antigen was detected in samples of skin and lungs from mummies dating 3000 years back
… was common in Europe in the 14 – 18th century
… it is endemic in over 100 countries – mostly in Africa
… kills approx. 2 million people per year and there are 400 million cases each year
… to survive malaria, Africans developed sickle cells
Plasmodium species evolved 55 – 125 million years ago.
Four major species cause malaria:
Plasmodium falciparum (Africa, Asia, America)
Plasmodium vivax (worldwide)
Plasmodium ovale (West Africa)
Plasmodium malariae (worldwide)
P. falciparum is the major problem and results in fatal infections. The closest relative (in chimpanzees) is P. reichenow.
Clinical features of malaria:
Cold stage, hot stage, sweat stage
Headaches
Nausea
Thirst
Distress
Muscle pain
Fatigue
Coma/death
Transmission:
Inoculation via the bite of infected bloodfeeding female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles, which transfer parasites from human to human. Male mosquitoes do not bite. In humans, parasites multiply exponentially in the liver and then in infected red blood cells. Mosquitoes ingest parasites with a bloodmeal, the parasites undergoing another reproductive phase inside the mosquito before being passed on to another human.
How agriculture help to spread malaria!
- Kenya, 1950/60’s – people were weak in strength due to due to
lack of meat in their diet but not overly troubled. A grand
project of farming fish was introduced for more meat protein
into their diets by “Wise men from the North”.
- People learned very well but soon these ponds became
perfect breeding grounds for Anopheles mosquito and
hundreds of thousands of people started dying of malaria
- The “Wise men” departed, thinking how unfortunate it was
that these people could not profit from their teachings
- Villagers thought that the “Wise men” came to instruct them
to grow mosquitoes |
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