Read these four statements about malaria…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
Read these four statements about malaria. Say whether each is true or false, and correct each false one.
- A male Anopheles mosquito bites a person and injects the sporozoites.
- The gametocytes are formed in the gut of the mosquito.
- The human is the intermediate host of Plasmodium.
- Plasmodium vivax causes the most serious type, malignant malaria.
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium. Sporozoites enter the human at the bite, multiply in the liver and then in the red blood cells, which burst and release haemozoin. Gametocytes form in the red cells and are sucked up by the female Anopheles, where the gametes fuse in the gut. Tertian fever returns every 2 days and quartan fever every 3 days.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. (a) False. Only the female Anopheles sucks blood and injects the sporozoites.
Step 2. (b) False. The gametocytes form in the red blood cells of the human. The gametes fuse in the gut of the mosquito.
Step 3. (c) True. The parasite multiplies asexually in the human, and the sexual stage is in the mosquito, the definitive host.
Step 4. (d) False. Plasmodium falciparum causes malignant malaria.
Answer: (a) false, female; (b) false, red blood cells; (c) true; (d) false, P. falciparum.
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