Malaria or Paludism is an infectious disease that is caused

by protozoa of the Plasmodium genus. It causes chills and

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high fever. The way of transmission is the bite of the

Anopheles mosquito. It was a serious disease in Europe and
wide areas of the Central and South America until the
second part of the XX century when it was eradicated from
Europe. However, nowadays is a very important problem of
public health in the tropical and subtropical regions,
especially in the African continent. There are more than 300
millions of Paludism ills a year, and that causes 1 million of
deaths... The 90% of the ills live in Africa and are children
under five years.
Human Malaria is produced by four different parasites. All
them with similar symptomatology that present periodic
relapses:
Plasmodium vivax causes the less serious Malaria.
Plasmodium falciparum is the responsible of the most
causes of death.
Plasmodium malaria. It has a longer incubation period.
Plasmodium ovale.
During the incubation process the protozoa developed into
the hepatic cells. Some days before the first manifestation
the microorganism reaches the erythrocytes that are
destroyed by the protozoa development, and the fever
appears.
Since 1638 the treatment against the Malaria is based on
the use of an extract of the bark of the Quina tree. The
quinine affects to the development of the protozoa in the
blood but it is toxic to humans.
In 1930 was synthesised the Atabrine that is less toxic than
the quinine. The results against the Plasmodium are better
too.
After the Second War World the scientific develop the
cloroquina. It is used to prevent and cure completely some
of the Malaria diseases and it is less toxic that precedent
medicines.
However the Plasmodium falciparum have developed
resistance in Vietnam, Malaya Peninsula, Africa and South
America, where quinine have to be used again. Another
problem is that some Anopheles mosquito has become
resistant to powerful insecticides such as DDT, with the
result of new malaria outbreaks in certain tropical countries.
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Moreover, Ecologist organizations are against the use of

these potent insecticides.
Medical investigators such as Manuel Patarroyo are
searching to discover a universal vaccine against the
Malaria. Investigations are based in the genomes of the
plasmodium and the transmission agents, Anopheles, to
find therapeutics against the disease and to control the
populations of the transmission agents.

The above
microscopic
image
shows the

Plasmodium infection
protozoa

Plasmodium Protozoa that infect the erythrocytes and cause

Human Malaria. The Protozoa are transmitted by the bite of
Anopheles mosquito in the subtropical and tropical regions.
Malaria causes chills, fever and occasionally the death.

Quina tree
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The Quina Tree. The bark of this sudamerican tree contains

quinina, a medicine to treat the Malaria.

Plasmodium Life Cycle

The Anopheles Mosquito infected with Plasmodium Protozoa

bite someone. Then the infectious germens enter the
hepatic cells where they reproduce asexually and produce
the breaking of the cells. The second generation infects the
blood cells and causes the breaking that affects to the
infected person with fever crisis. The Plasmodium is able to
produce sexual gametes in the blood cells. When the
Anopheles mosquito bites an infected person the gametes
are in the blood and the fecundations takes place in the
digestive tube and develop until reaching the salivary
glands. Then when the Mosquito bites a new person the
Plasmodium life cycle begins.

Regions of the world affected by the Malaria

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Plasmodium is present in many regions of the world and in

some of them it has became genetic resistant to the
cloroquina.
MY OPINION:
The scientific community has to do a great job to find the
definitive vaccine for the malaria that kills millions of
children less than 5 years in Africa, subtropical countries
and tropical countries.
The great insecticides (like DDT) are not a solution for this
mosquito, because they kill unselective insects.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Encarta
www.malariavaccine.org

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