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Malaria: The Deadly Disease
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| "Among the four malaria species that infect humans, Plasmodium vivax and
P. ovale can develop dormant liver stages that can reactivate after
symptomless intervals of up to 2 (P. vivax) to 4 years (P.
ovale). " [1] |
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The
true cause of malaria is a member of the genus Plasmodium. Four
species of Plasmodium are known to cause malaria. The parasite must first
complete a lifecycle in the Anopheles mosquito before it can be
transmitted to a human. When the mosquito bites the human, it injects
some of the Plasmodium into the blood of the person. The parasites will
travel in the blood to the liver, where they will infect the liver cells and
multiply. Once the liver cells become laden with parasites, the cells
will burst, causing the parasite to enter into the blood stream again. This
causes a heightened immune response and the characteristic fever that
accompanies the entrance of the parasites into the general circulation.
The parasites can then either get taken up by another mosquito that feeds on
the person, or reinfect liver cells furthering the cycle of infection and lysis.
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http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/biology/life_cycle.htm accessed on 4/21/06
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"After a single sporozoite (the parasite form
inoculated by the female mosquito) of Plasmodium falciparum invades a liver
cell, the parasite grows in 6 days and produces 30,000-40,000 daughter cells
(merozoites) which are released into the blood when the liver cell ruptures. In
the blood, after a single merozoite invades a red blood cell, the parasite
grows in 48 hours and produces 8-24 daughter cells, which are released into the
blood when the red blood cell ruptures." (http://www.cdc.gov/Malaria/facts.htm on accessed 4/21/06)
[1] http://www.cdc.gov/Malaria/facts.htm accessed on 5/1/06
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