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Malaria is caused by Plasmodium and transmitted through mosquito bites. The life cycle includes stages in the mosquito and human host, causing symptoms such as fever and headaches. Malaria is a major cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa and can hinder economic development.
The malaria life cycle describes the various stages in the development and reproduction of malaria, a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by a variety of protists known as Plasmodium. Five different varieties of Plasmodium are capable of infecting humans; Plasmodium falciparum tends to cause the most severe cases of infection. Malaria kills millions of people every year, although it has mostly been controlled in developed countries. Most of the world’s fatal cases of malaria occur in young children in sub-Saharan Africa. High levels of malaria in a given area can be a significant obstacle to economic development.
The first stage of the malaria life cycle occurs when a Plasmodium-infected female Anopheles mosquito bites a susceptible person. The infected mosquito will inject elongated, motile cells known as sporozoites into an individual’s bloodstream. Upon entering a person’s body, the sporozoites arrive further into a person’s liver where they divide and multiply into the next stage of the malaria life cycle: the merozoites.
After a period of time ranging from weeks to years, although usually between two weeks and several months, the merozoites leave the liver and enter the host’s bloodstream where they infect red blood cells and begin to multiply. Red blood cells burst and release toxins throughout the host’s body. During this stage of the malaria life cycle, symptoms such as fever, chills and headaches begin to occur. In severe cases, particularly those involving Plasmodium falciparum infection, victims can experience hallucinations, coma and, ultimately, death.
There is also a sexual phase in the malaria life cycle. Some of the merozoites that infect red blood cells don’t simply multiply and spread; instead, they develop into gametocytes that can produce both male and female gametes, or sex cells. These red blood cells don’t break down; remain intact and contain gametocytes. These gametocytes, however, are unable to produce gametes within a human body, so new Plasmodium cannot form within blood cells.
The next stage in the malaria life cycle, therefore, occurs when a mosquito draws blood from an infected individual. Gametocytes are capable of producing gametes within a mosquito’s body. Gametocytes produce male and female gametes which combine to form a new generation of sporozoites. After biting another person, the mosquito is then able to spread the parasite, infecting a new person with sporozoites and restarting the malaria life cycle.
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