How Malaria Infects the Body

        Malaria parasites infect two hosts namely, humans and female Anopheles mosquitoes. Let us first talk about the life cycle of malaria parasites in human body. First, the parasites grow and multiply in the liver cells and then infect red blood cells (RBC). After infecting red blood cells, they grow and multiply and later destroy them. The death of these RBCs cause the release of malaria parasites in neighboring RBCs. And the cycle goes on and on causing symptoms of malaria to manifest from mild to severe. 

        You may be wondering how the Anopheles mosquitoes come into play in the transmission of malaria parasites. Remember that after infecting liver cells, these parasites attack RBCs of our body. A form of food for mosquitoes is human blood (our RBCs) and if a person's RBBs are infected with malaria parasites, they ingest and get infected themselves. Mosquitoes do not suffer from the presence of malaria parasites unlike humans who manifest symptoms as their liver cells and RBCs are infected. Hence, these mosquitoes are able to survive and act as vectors (i.e. carriers of the disease and mode of transmission of these parasites from one human to another).  After 10-18 days, the parasites are found in the mosquitoes salivary glands and transmits the malaria parasites to the next human they will take a blood meal on. 

Click here for Malaria Life Cycle animation via Youtube: 

        After learning a little bit about the pathophysiology (i.e. how the disease works on the body), you may have some guesses as to what symptoms present in a person infected by malaria parasites.  

Early Symptoms include:

- Fever (usual symptom at an event of infection)

- Headache

- Chills

- Vomiting.

          If early symptoms are not treated within 24 hours which is possible because its early symptoms are not unique presentations to malaria exclusively, it may progress to severe illness that may lead to death. 

Severe complications include: 

- Severe Anemia (remember that malaria parasites infect RBCs causing it to lyse and release daughter parasites into neighboring RBCs

- Respiratory Distress  in relation to metabolic acidosis

- Cerebral Malaria

- multi-organ development. 

Bibliography: 

About Malaria. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/index.html

CDC Malaria Map Application. (2015, March 12). Retrieved April 8, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/map/index.html

Malaria. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/

Wellens, T., Hayton, K., & Fairhurst, R. (2009, September 1). JCI - The impact of malaria parasitism: From corpuscles to communities. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.jci.org/articles/view/38307/figure/1