CLASSIFICATION

&
LIFE CYCLE
OF
PLASMODIUM
 Plasmodium

• Plasmodium is a parasitic protozoa

• Causes malaria.
• Plasmodium, which infects red blood
cells in mammals (including humans),
birds, and reptiles, occurs worldwide,
especially in tropical and temperate
zones.
 Taxonomic classification
• Kingdom: Protista
• Subkingdom: Protozoa
• Phylum: Apicomplexa
• Class: Sporozoa.
• Order: Eucoccidiida.
• Family: Plasmodiidae
• Genus: Plasmodium
 Species infecting human :

• P. vivax
• P. falciparum
• P. malariae
• P. ovale
Malaria
 Causative agents
Plasmodium
Human infection
species
Plasmodium vivax Benign tertian malaria

Plasmodium falciparum Malignant

tertian/pernicious
malaria (most common
and fatal)
Plasmodium malariae Quartan malaria

Plasmodium ovale Ovale tertian malaria

 Vector:

• The female Anopheles sp. Mosquito.

Plasmodium have two hosts:

1- A vertebrate host in which reproduction is

asexual (intermediate host):Human

2- A blood-sucking insect, in which sexual

reproduction takes place (definitive host)-
mosquito .
-The infective stage(For Human) :
sporozoites.
- The infective stage for the mosquito is
the gametocytes.

In the intermediate host:

-Liver stage: 6 - 14 days.

- Blood stage: 48 - 72 hrs.

- Incubation period: 21 days.

 Life cycle of Plasmodium
• Divided into 3 stages-
1. Exoerythrocytic stage – in liver of man.
2. Erythrocytic stage- in RBCs of man.
3. Sporogonic stage- in mosquito (female
Anopheles)
LIFE CYCLE OF MALARIA
Oocyst

Sporozoites

Zygote Stomach Wall

Salivary Gland

sporozoites
Gametocytes Pre-erythrocytic
(hepatic) cycle

Exo-erythrocytic
(hepatic) cycle
Erythrocytic Hypnozoites
Cycle
 Transmission
• sporozoites injected
with saliva
• enter circulation
• trapped by liver
(receptor-ligand)

Anopheles
Exoerythrocytic Schizogony
• hepatocyte invasion
• asexual replication
• 6-15 days
• 1000-10,000 merozoites
 Hyponozoite Forms
• some EE forms exhibit delayed
replication (ie, dormant)
• merozoites produced months after
initial infection
• only P. vivax and P. ovale
relapse = hypnozoite
recrudescence = subpatentt
 Erythrocytic
Stage
• intracellular parasite
undergoes trophic phase
• young trophozoite called
‘ring form’
• ingests host hemoglobin
• cytostome
• food vacuole
• hemozoin (malarial
pigment)
Erythrocytic Schizogony
• Nuclear division-begin
schizont stage
• 6-40 nuclei
• budding merozoites
• erythrocyte rupture
releases merozoites
• characterized by acute
febrile attacks (malaria
paroxysms)
• Causes periodic episodes of
fever alternating with
symptom-free periods
 Malaria
Paroxysm
• paroxysms associated with
synchrony of merozoite
release
• between paroxysms temper-
ature is normal and patient
feels well
• falciparum may not exhibit
classic paroxysms
(continuous fever)

tertian malaria
quartan malaria
erythrocytic schizogony
• 48 hr in Pf, Pv, Po
• 72 hr in Pm

gametocytes
Gametogenesis
• occurs in mosquito gut
• ‘exflagellation’ most
obvious
•8 microgametes
formed
 Sporogony
•occurs in mosquito (9-21 days)
•fusion of micro and
macrogametes
•zygote  ookinete (~24 hr)
•ookinete transverses gut
epithelium ('trans-invasion').
•ookinete  oocyst
• between epithelium and
basal lamina
•asexual replication 
sporozoites
•sporozoites released.
•sporozoites migrate through
hemocoel
•sporozoites 'invade' salivary glands.
•Stored in salivary glands of
mosquito.
•Released into human body when
mosquito bites another person.
THANK
U