What shape is Plasmodium falciparum?
Plasmodium falciparum is named for the crescent or falciform shape it adopts when preparing to undergo transfer to a mosquito vector. By contrast, gametocytes of the other (less virulent) human malaria parasites retain a more rounded shape.
What are the characteristic features of malaria?
The symptoms of the disease include fever, vomiting, and/or headache. A characteristic malarial fever has ‘hot’, ‘wet’, and ‘cold’ phases and appears 10 to 15 days after the mosquito bites. To diagnose malaria, blood slides are examined under a microscope, where the parasite is seen inside red blood cells.
What are the characteristic of Plasmodium?
Plasmodium spp.
| Characteristic | P. falciparum | P. malariae |
|---|---|---|
| Erythrocytic cycle: | 48 hours | 72 hours |
| Exoerythrocytic cycle: | 9 days | 14-15 days |
| Gametocytes: | crescent | ovoid |
| Distribution: | worldwide in tropics, subtropics & temperate regions | scattered in tropics and subtropics |
What is the disease caused by Plasmodium falciparum?
Plasmodium falciparum is the type of malaria that most often causes severe and life-threatening malaria; this parasite is very common in many countries in Africa south of the Sahara desert. People who are heavily exposed to the bites of mosquitoes infected with P. falciparum are most at risk of dying from malaria.
How do you identify a Plasmodium species?
Malaria parasites were detected by Giemsa microscopy (GM) while a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to identify the Plasmodium species. Statistical analysis performed included the Pearson chi-square test, and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
What does Plasmodium falciparum do to the body?
P. falciparum can cause severe malaria because it multiples rapidly in the blood, and can thus cause severe blood loss (anemia). In addition, the infected parasites can clog small blood vessels. When this occurs in the brain, cerebral malaria results, a complication that can be fatal.