CLASS XII –A

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY
2024-2025

BY:
S. AASIMA ROSE
 MALARIA CAUSING
PARASITE – PLASMODIUM
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to
MR.Gowtham –biology teacher for their valuable
guidance and support throughout the completion of
this project. Their expertise and encouragement have
been instrumental in shaping my understanding of the
subject matter.
I am also thankful to my Principal for providing the
necessary resources and environment conducive to
learning, which enabled me to undertake this project.
Additionally, I extend my appreciation to my
classmates and friends for their assistance and
cooperation during the course of this project.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support of
my family for their patience and understanding during
this endeavor.
Thank you all for your support, guidance and
contributions to this project
 INDEX
S.No Contents Page.no
1 List of diagram 01
2 Abstract 02
3 Introduction 03
4 History of malaria
 Discovery of the malaria 04
parasite and their vectors
 Discovery of malaria
medicine's 05

5 Life cycle of plasmodium 06-08

6 Symptoms 09-10
7 Malaria prevention 11
8 Scientific approach
 Test 12
 Research 13
9 Benifit of plasmodium 14
10 World Malaria Day 2024 15
11 Anopheles Mosquito - Facts 16-17
12 Reference 18
 List of diagrams
LIST Page no

A Chinese document 04
Quinine and Mefloquine (Malaria 05
medicines)
Cycle in mosquito and in human 06
Breaking the cycle with vaccines 08
Malaria symptoms 10
Strategies for preventing malaria include 11
Test to analysis malaria 12
Research toward disease elimination 13
Microscope Malaria Parasite Malaria 14

Anopheles Mosquito 16
 Abstract
Malaria is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus
Plasmodium and is a major cause of mortality and
morbidity worldwide.
These parasites have a complex life cycle in their
mosquito vector and vertebrate hosts.
The primary factors contributing to the resurgence of
malaria are the appearance of drug-resistant strains of
the parasite, the spread of insecticide-resistant strains
of the mosquito and the lack of licensed malaria
vaccines of proven efficacy.
This minireview includes a summary of the disease,
the life cycle of the parasite, information relating to
the genome and proteome of the species lethal to
humans, Plasmodium falciparum, together with
other recent developments in the field.
INTRODUCTION

Malaria parasites of the genus Plasmodium

spread by successively infecting two types of
hosts: female Anopheles mosquitoes and
humans.

The most common Plasmodium

parasites causing malaria in humans are
Plasmodium falciparum, which is responsible for
the majority of malaria deaths globally, and
Plasmodium vivax, which has the added
complication of a dormant liver stage, which can
be reactivated in the absence of a mosquito bite,
leading to relapsing malaria.
HISTORY OF MALARIA
Discovery of the malaria parasite and their
vectors

 Malaria is an ancient disease and references to what was almost

certainly malaria occur in a Chinese document from about 2700
BC, clay tablets from Mesopotamia from 2000 BC, Egyptian papyri
from 1570 BC and Hindu texts as far back as the sixth century BC.
 Such historical records must be regarded with caution but moving
into later centuries we are beginning to step onto firmer ground.
 The early Greeks, including Homer in about 850 BC, Empedocles
of Agrigentum in about 550 BC and Hippocrates in about 400 BC,
were well aware of the characteristic poor health, malarial fevers
and enlarged spleens seen in people living in marshy places.
Discovery of Malaria medicines
Quinine
Quinine comes from the bark of a tree native to South America.
According to legend it was first brought to Europe by a Countess
who had been treated with it in Peru in the 1600s. The bark was
named cinchona in 1742 by Linnaeus. In 1820, two French
chemists isolated quinine from the cinchona bark and quinine
became a treatment of reference for intermittent fever throughout
the world. Quinine remains an important and effective treatment
for malaria today, despite sporadic observations of quinine
resistance.

Mefloquine
The development of mefloquine was a collaborative achievement
of the US Army Medical Research and Development Command,
WHO/TDR and Hoffman-La Roche, Inc. Mefloquine’s efficacy in
preventing falciparum malaria when taken regularly was shown in
1974 and its potential as a successful treatment agent was shown
soon after. Resistance to mefloquine began to appear in Asia in
1985, around the time the drug became generally available.
 Life cycle of plasmodium
 The malaria parasite develops both in humans and in the
female Anopheles mosquitoes. The size and genetic complexity of
the parasite mean that each infection presents thousands of antigens
(proteins) to the human immune system.
 The parasite changes through several life stages even while in the
human host, presenting different antigens at different stages of its
life cycle. In addition, the parasite has developed a series of
strategies that allow it to confuse, hide, and misdirect the human
immune system.
 i. Malaria infection begins when an infected
female Anopheles mosquito bites a person,
injecting Plasmodium parasites, in the form of sporozoites, into
the bloodstream.

ii. The sporozoites pass quickly into the human liver.

iii. The sporozoites multiply asexually in the liver cells over the
next 7 to 10 days, causing no symptoms.

iv. In an animal model, the parasites, in the form of merozoites, are

released from the liver cells in vesicles, journey through the
heart, and arrive in the lungs, where they settle within lung
capillaries. The vesicles eventually disintegrate, freeing the
merozoites to enter the blood phase of their development.

v. In the bloodstream, the merozoites invade red blood cells

(erythrocytes) and multiply again until the cells burst. Then they
invade more erythrocytes. This cycle is repeated, causing fever
each time parasites break free and invade blood cells.

vi. Some of the infected blood cells leave the cycle of asexual
multiplication. Instead of replicating, the merozoites in these
cells develop into sexual forms of the parasite, called
gametocytes, that circulate in the blood stream.

vii. When a mosquito bites an infected human, it ingests the

gametocytes, which develop further into mature sex cells called
gametes.
viii. The fertilized female gametes develop into actively moving
ookinetes that burrow through the mosquito’s midgut wall and
form oocysts on the exterior surface.
ix. Inside the oocyst, thousands of active sporozoites develop. The
oocyst eventually bursts, releasing sporozoites into the body
cavity that travel to the mosquito’s salivary glands.

x. The cycle of human infection begins again when the mosquito

bites another person.
Symptoms of malaria
Signs and symptoms of malaria may include:

 Fever
 Chills
 General feeling of discomfort
 Headache
 Nausea and vomiting
 Diarrhea
 Abdominal pain
 Muscle or joint pain
 Fatigue
 Rapid breathing
 Rapid heart rate
 Cough

o Some people who have malaria experience

cycles of malaria "attacks." An attack usually
starts with shivering and chills, followed by a
high fever, followed by sweating and a return
to normal temperature
o Malaria signs and symptoms typically begin within a
few weeks after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
However, some types of malaria parasites can lie
dormant in your body for up to a year.
Malaria prevention
Strategies for preventing malaria include:
 being aware of the risk.
 preventing mosquito bites, for example, by using insect
repellant and covering the arms and legs.
 taking antimalarial tablets when traveling to an area where
malaria occurs.
 getting a prompt diagnosis and treatment if someone thinks
they may have the disease.
 administering the vaccine to children who live in places
where malaria is endemic.
Scientific approaches
Test for malaria
 Malaria tests look for signs of a malaria infection in a sample
of your blood. The tests can diagnose malaria early so the
disease can be cured before it causes serious illness. Malaria
testing is used if you have symptoms of malaria and you have
recently been in parts of the world where malaria is common.

 Malaria is rare in the United States. It's mostly found in

warm, humid parts of the world. The highest number of cases
are in parts of Africa south of the Sahara Desert. In the
U.S.,most cases are in people who have traveled in tropical
and subtropical areas where mosquitos spread a lot of
disease.
Research on malaria

WEHI’s malaria research team has several aims.

Discover more about how the malaria parasite lives and grows, and
how it interacts with our body’s immune system, so we can find
new ways to treat it.
Search for new medicines that can better treat malaria, to help save
lives.
Create a blood test that will identify if people have a type of
malaria that can stay hidden in their liver for a long time
(Plasmodium vivax). This type of malaria is the most common
across the world.

Reveal how malaria spreads in the Asia-Pacific region, to assist in

programs that are fighting the disease in some of the world’s
poorest countries.
Fast-track the development of vaccines to prevent people from
getting infected with malaria.
Benefit of plasmodium
Developing immunity
Repeated Plasmodium infections in childhood can help build
immunity that reduces the risk of malaria disease.
Shared resources
Plasmodium parasites and Anopheles mosquitoes have a long-
term relationship that benefits both organisms. The parasites
receive protection and resources, while the mosquitoes don't lose
their reproductive fitness.
Parasite immune suppression
The long-term relationship between Plasmodium and Anopheles
mosquitoes has led to evolutionary processes that suppress the
parasite's immune response
However, exposure to Plasmodium antigens during pregnancy
may have the opposite effect, promoting immune tolerance that
can impair the body's response to the infection after birth.
World Malaria Day
25 April 2024
In recent years, progress in reducing malaria has ground to a
standstill. Not only does malaria continue to directly
endanger health and cost lives, but it also perpetuates a
vicious cycle of inequity. People living in the most
vulnerable situations including pregnant women, infants,
children under 5 years of age, refugees, migrants,
internally displaced people, and Indigenous Peoples
continue to be disproportionately impacted.
The WHO African Region shoulders the heaviest burden of
the disease – accounting, in 2022, for 94% and 95% of
malaria case and deaths. Rural populations in the African
region living in situations of poverty and with less access
to education are the most impacted. In view of the current
trajectory, critical 2025 milestones of the WHO global
malaria strategy for reductions in malaria cases and deaths
will be missed.
Why are pregnant women, young children and other groups
in vulnerable situations not accessing the malaria services
they need? On World Malaria Day 2024, WHO joins the
RBM Partnership to End Malaria and other partners in
highlighting barriers to health equity, gender equality and
human rights in malaria responses worldwide – as well as
concretemeasures to overcome them.
Anopheles Mosquito - Facts
 The body of the adult Anopheles mosquito is dark brown to
black in color and has 3 sections which are the head, thorax
and abdomen.
 This mosquito species seems to prefer mammals, including
humans, for its blood meal.
 Anopheles mosquitoes are one of about 41 genera of
mosquitoes that occur worldwide.
 Of the nearly 3,500 mosquito species, about 430 are
Anopheles.
 The only country or region that does not have these
mosquitoes is Antarctica.
 From the Greek an (“not”) + ophelos (“benefit”), a genus of
mosquitoes, many species of which are vectors of malaria.
 scientific name: Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say.
 Malaria vector
Anopheles mosquitoes are the primary vector of malaria, a
disease that kills more than 600,000 people each year.
 Heartworm transmitter
Anopheles mosquitoes can also transmit heartworm in dogs.
 Stomach position
When resting, the stomach of an Anopheles mosquito points
upward, unlike most mosquitoes.
 Only females bite
Only female mosquitoes bite because they need the protein-
rich blood for reproduction and egg production.
 Can survive for a month
Female Anopheles mosquitoes can survive for at least a
month in favorable conditions.
 Only certain species can spread malaria
Not all Anopheles mosquitoes can spread malaria, and only
females can transmit it.
 African species are the best
A few African species of female Anopheles mosquitoes are
particularly good at spreading malaria.
 Become infected by biting an infected person
Anopheles mosquitoes become infected with malaria
by biting an infected person and drawing blood that
contains the parasite.
 Don't travel far
Adult mosquitoes don't travel far from where they
hatched.
 Malaria can be eradicated
If communities can prevent transmission, malaria can be
eradicated locally in a matter of weeks.
Reference
 https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-malaria-
day/2024
 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Major-
Indices-of-Malaria-Transmission-Advantages-
and-Disadvantages_tbl1_44589608
 https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/malaria-tests/
 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/1506
70
 https://www.malariavaccine.org/tools-
resources/malaria-parasite-life-cycle
 https://www.guidetomalariapharmacology.org/G
RAC/ParasiteLifecycleStagesForward
 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Chemical-
structures-of-mefloquine-quinine-halofantrine-
and-lumefantrine_fig1_23760203
 https://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/a
rticles/10.1186/1756-3305-3-5
 https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/about/life-cycle-
of-anopheles-mosquitoes.html
 https://www.mosquitomagnet.com/articles/where
-did-mosquitoes-come-from