Malaria, caused by the parasitic organism Plasmodium falciparum, is transmitted through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. The life cycle of malaria involves several stages, including the mosquito ingesting gametes from an infected person and then injecting the infective stages into a new host, where the parasites multiply and cause symptoms. Preventive measures against malaria include the use of prophylactic drugs, though the development of effective vaccines is challenging due to the parasite's resistance and complex life cycle.

1. MALARIA FACT
SHEET
What Is Malaria?
Plasmodium falciparum, AKA ‘malaria’ is a disease caused by the eukaryotic
organism of genus Plasmodium, with many species including the most common
‘vivax’ and ‘falciparum’.
Plasmodium falciparum is a parasite, which is in the protoctists kingdom.
Transmission
The transmission of Plasmodium falciparum (malaria) is very complex and requires numerous steps and
processes.
Malaria is caused a vector: the female Anopheles, a type of mosquito. The female Anopheles carries the
Plasmodium from an infected person to an uninfected person, hence transmitting the disease. The
female Anopheles’ mouth parts are adapted to have a proboscis, which pierces the blood vessel to
draw blood. The malarial parasites live in the red blood cells of the human
and feed on the haemoglobin. These are taken in by the mosquito.
Cycle Of Malaria
1) Female Anopheles mosquito sucks the
infected person’s blood, which contains the
parasite gametes into it’s stomach.
2) These gametes fuse and the zygote
develops inside the mosquito’s stomach.
3) They move to the mosquito’s salivary
glands.
4) When the mosquito bites the uninfected
person, it’s alive is injected as an
anticoagulant.
5) Saliva contains the infective state of the
parasite.
6) In the human host, the infective stages of
the parasite enter the liver, where they
multiply before passing through into the
blood.
7) In the blood, they enter the red blood cells
where they feed on haemoglobin and
gametes are produced
8) The cycle continues.
Cycle Summary
1) Mosquito carries gametes in stomach
2) Zygote formed
3) Move to saliva
4) Bites person
5) Infected person has infective stages
6) Migrate to the liver cells
7) Migrate to the red blood cells.
Ways Of Transmitting
• Use of careless and
unhygienic medical
equipment.
• Unscreened blood
transfusions.
• Unsterilised needles.
• Able to travel across the
placenta.
Little Extras To Know
• Parasites cause the illness whilst they are reproducing
inside the red blood cells, which burst out releasing
chemicals which cause fever.
• Symptoms usually appear 10-15 days after infection.
• Several drugs are used as prophylactics, taken before
infection to avoid development of malaria.
• Many Plasmodium are resistant, hence it is hard to
develop vaccines
• Some people may loose immunity because they had
no further exposure, no antigens or no boosters.
• There are many different strains of malaria.
• Difficult to make a vaccine because there is more than
one stage of the life cycle.
• Parasite can be hidden in the cells.