Plasmodium spp., including P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, and P. vivax (malaria)
Images:
Plasmodium falciparum: http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/625tutorials/Plasmodium01.html
Plasmodium lophurae exflagellation:
http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/625tutorials/Apicomplexa05.html
Plasmodium malariae: http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/625tutorials/Plasmodium04.html
http://www.cbu.edu/~seisen/Malaria_files/frame.htm
Generalized Life cycle of Plasmodium spp.
World Malaria Report 2005: http://rbm.who.int/wmr2005/html/exsummary_en.htm
Timeline, adapted from Maher, B.A. (2005).
Fever Pitch. The Scientist 18(10):25.
|
Year |
Discovery |
|
400 BC |
Susruta, A Brahmin priest, describes
malarial fever that he attributes to mosquito bites. |
|
95 BC |
Lucretius suggests that an organism rather
than poisonous air or miasma might cause malaria, which means “bad air” in
Italian. |
|
450 AD |
A widespread epidemic occurs in Lugnano,
north of |
|
1638 |
Juan del Vego uses a tincture from bark of
a tree to treat the Countess of Chinchon in |
|
1716 |
Giovanni Maria Lancisi, physician to three
popes, notes that draining swamps curbs malaria; he suggests an insect
origin. |
|
1880 |
French army surgeon Charles Louis Alfonse
Laveran identifies malaria parasite; wins Nobel Prize in 1907. |
|
1894 |
Patrick Manson hypothesizes that an
external vector transmits malaria. |
|
1897 |
Ronald Ross, military physician in |
|
1934 |
Chemist Hans Andersag at Bayer laboratories
in |
|
1939 |
Paul Muller in |
|
1947-1951 |
National Malaria Eradication Program
established by state and federal agencies essentially eradicates malaria in
the |
|
1956 |
World Health Organization (WHO) launches
Global Malaria Eradication Program. |
|
1960’s |
Widespread drug-resistant parasites and
DDT-resistant mosquitoes are noted |
|
1962 |
Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring, about the environmental
effects of DDT. |
|
1967 |
WHO abandons malaria eradication in favor
of control. |
|
1972 |
The US Environmental Protection Agency bans
the use of DDT |
|
1979 |
Chinese researchers describe artemisinin, a
wormword-derived treatment noted in ancient texts. |
|
1983 |
First Plasmodium
gene is cloned |
|
1998 |
WHO initiates Roll Back Malaria program
with the goal of halving the burden of malaria by 2010. |
|
2000 |
|
|
2002 |
International consortia publish the
sequence of Plasmodium falciparum
and a draft sequence of Anopheles
gambiae. |
Phylogeny:
Subphylum Apicomplexa
Preferred definitive host:
Technically, mosquitos are the definitive host since the parasite undergoes
sexual reproduction in the mosquito. By convention, mosquitos are considered
the "vectors" to humans.
Reservoir hosts:
None
Vector/intermediate host:
Mosquitos, particularly those of the genus Anopheles.
Geographical location:
Central and South America, Africa, Middle East, Asia,
Organs affected:
Liver, blood, kidney
Symptoms and clinical signs:
Most symptoms are associated with its effects on erythrocytes. Symptoms
commonly include chills, fever, and anemia. Other symptoms include muscle pain,
headache, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, and renal failure.
Treatment: Chloroquine, Primaquine,
Sulfamethoxine, Pyrimethamine, Sulfadiazine, Quinine, Amodiaquine.
Some drugs used in the treatment of
malaria are nasty, and have psychological effects. Here is the text of an
e-mail distributed, requesting information regarding Lariam:
From: "Dan Olmsted" <DOlmsted@upi.com
To: <info@rpcv-wa.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 05, 2002 1:14 PM
Subject: Lariam query from UPI
We would appreciate it if you could post this and/or send to volunteers. If
you have any questions feel free to contact me at 202 302 3753 or via e-mail.
Thanks, Dan Olmsted,
If you experienced psychiatric or other reactions to the drug either during or after your Peace Corps years, we would like to hear from you. We also are interested in hearing about any reports of volunteers not taking the drug because of side effects; what kind of warnings you received; whether your complaints about side effects were taken seriously, and how Peace Corps medical officers dealt with the issue of side effects. We also would like to find former medical officers or Peace Corps officials who would talk to us. Also, we are interested in any information about suicidal thinking or behavior, or actual suicides or unexplained deaths, that might be connected with the drug. UPI published an article on side effects including suicide on May 21; you can read it by going to UPI.com and typing in Lariam, or going to Newsday.com and doing the same thing (that is a shorter version).
You can e-mail me at dolmsted@upi.com. Please include a phone number and
indicate whether you would be willing to be quoted by name (we only use named
sources in our reporting). Also, if you are attending the Peace Corps
convention in
We are taking the issue of side effects very seriously and are committed to full and accurate reporting about the situation.
Sincerely,
Dan Olmsted
United Press International
New Study of Malaria Finds Many New Cases: From a Reuters article released March 11, 2005
More
than half a billion people, nearly double previous estimates, were affected by
the deadliest form of malaria in 2002, according to a new estimate by
scientists.
.
Most
of the cases were in sub-Saharan Africa but nearly 25 percent of them occurred
in
.
There
are 515 million clinical attacks of Plasmodium falciparum malaria a year on the
planet, said Robert Snow, professor of public health at the Kenyan Medical
Research Institute in
.
"We
have taken a conservative approach to estimating how many attacks occur
globally each year," Snow said, "but even so the problem is far
bigger than we previously thought."
.
The
figures, which were reported in a letter to the science journal Nature,
published Thursday, are almost twice those of the World Health Organization,
which estimated the global incidence at 273 million cases in 1998, with 90
percent of cases in
.
"It
is quite substantially higher than the WHO estimate," Snow said. In the
new study, it was estimated that there were 365 million cases of malaria in
.
Malaria
is an infectious disease caused by parasites transmitted to humans by the bite
of an infected mosquito. The disease occurs in more than 100 countries and
kills more than one million people each year - mostly young children in
sub-Saharan
.
The
new research suggests that 2.2 billion people are at risk of malaria.
.
Although
the scientists did not estimate deaths from the disease, the risk of severe
life-threatening complications was estimated to be approximately 10 times
higher in Africa than in
.
"Getting
the numbers right is important," Snow said. "Not knowing the size of
the problem limits our ability to articulate how much money we need to tackle
the problem - not knowing where the problem is located means you can't spend
wisely."
.
Groovy Web site(s):
Malaria Foundation International
http://www.malaria.org
Note: A number of genetic conditions
have evolved among human populations in response to malaria. The best known are
sickle-cell anemia and favism, a deficiency of gluose-6-phosphate
dehydrogenase.
From the Abstract of Aluoch, JR, 19997.
Higher resistance to Plasmodium falciparum infection in patients with
homozygous sickle cell disease in western
"Sickle haemoglobin (HbS) is considered
to be protective against malaria. Malaria is fatal in homozygous sickle cell
(HbSS) disease. In a cross-sectional survey…of 766 residents of
|
To Print: Click your browser's PRINT button. NOTE: To view the article with Web enhancements,
go to:
WHO Urges
Free Distribution of Anti-Malaria Nets
Reuters
Health Information 2007. © 2007 Reuters Ltd. By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA
(Reuters) Aug 16 - The World Health Organisation on Thursday recommended that
malaria endemic countries widely distribute free insecticide-treated mosquito
nets that give long-term protection against the disease which kills more than
one million people a year. The
new guidance from the United Nations agency follows "impressive
results" in Kenya, where mortality was reduced by 44 percent among
children sleeping under long-lasting nets that cost $5. "For
the first time, WHO recommends that insecticidal nets be long-lasting and
distributed either free or highly subsidised and used by all community
members," it said in a statement. Free
mass distribution of the nets, which are efficient for at least three years
and also kill the mosquitoes, is a "powerful way to quickly and
dramatically increase coverage, particularly among the poorest people". Malaria
kills a child every 30 seconds, mainly African children under 5 years old,
WHO says. Some 114 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are endemic. The
disease, which makes more than 500 million people a year severely ill, is
caused by a parasite transmitted via bites from infected mosquitoes. Conventional
nets need to be re-treated regularly and many people fail to wash them
properly or replace them when torn. WHO
director-general Margaret Chan said the new guidance provided "a road
map for ensuring that life-saving long-lasting insecticidal nets are more
widely available". "Long-lasting
insecticidal nets, with longer useful life, are cheaper to use, even if they
are more expensive to buy," the WHO said in a paper sent to its 193
member states. WHO's
previous guidelines recommended providing insecticide-treated mosquito nets
for use by children under five and pregnant women. "However,
recent studies have shown that by expanding the use of these nets to all
people in targeted areas, increased coverage and enhanced protection of
vulnerable groups can be achieved while protecting all community
members," it said. In
Kenya, between 2004 and 2006, a near tenfold increase in the number of
children sleeping under insecticide-treated nets resulted in 44 percent fewer
deaths than among children not protected by nets, according to preliminary
government data. President
Mwai Kibaki last year launched an effort to distribute 3.4 million
long-lasting insecticidal nets free of charge to children in 45 of Kenya's 70
districts, the WHO said. "Seven
lives were saved for every 1,000 nets given out," Peter Olumese, a
medical officer with WHO's Global Malaria Programme, told Reuters on
Thursday. <hr size=1 width="100%" noshade color=gray align=center> |
'Happy' Malaria Awareness Day!
Today on campuses around the country students with the Student Campaign for Child Survival
are demanding concrete
·
Students from
·
Stanford: Students will be tabling
on campus, hosting a speaker and screening a film – all on African malaria.
·
Cornell: Campaign members are
hosting house parties and taking pictures of all the partygoers who are
'biting back.'
·
St. Scholastica: Students
participating in the Mayfest Fun Run will be sporting "I'm
Biting Back" stickers. Non-runners can pose for pictures in the
student union or make a fee call to their elected officials in DC.
·
·
·
And many more!
Photos of students participating in their events and holding signs that read
"I'm biting back" will be compiled by students at SCCS's DC
headquarters and presented to Representative Obey (D-WI) with our semester's
primary request - fully fund the Global Fund and PMI.
Our press release is attached, updates on how everything panned out will
follow, and the house-party action kit, if you are curious, is still online here.
Keep up the good work everyone,
Simon Stumpf | SCCS National Organizer
The Student Campaign for Child Survival
c: 320 420 0959 | supportchildsurvival.org
CHARACTERISTICS
OF PLASMODIUM SPP.
|
PARAMETER |
VIVAX |
FALCIPARUM |
OVALE |
MALARIAE |
|
CIRCADIAN CYCLE OF FEVERS |
48 hours |
IRREGULAR
- 48 hours |
72 hours |
72 hours |
|
OCCURRENCE |
Temperate zone & North Africa & |
Tropical: Accounts For 50% of cases |
Africa, S.E. Asia, |
Tropics: Java & New Guinea |
|
CELLULAR MARKINGS |
Schuffner's Dots |
Maurer's Cleft |
Schuffner's Dots |
Absent |
|
EXOERYTH- ROCYTIC GENERA- TIONS |
Several |
Only 1 |
?
|
Relapses Possible |
|
AGE OF SUSCEP- TIBLE RBC'S |
Only young |
Any age |
Aging |
Any age, but low incidence |
|
# MEROZOITES |
16 |
16 |
8 |
8 |
|
MULTIPLE INFECTIONS OF RBC'S? |
Rare |
Frequent |
No |
No |
|
PROTECTION BY SICKLE CELL TRAIT |
No |
Yes |
No |
No |
|
NECESSITY OF DUFFY FACTORS |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |