Malaria
1965 in Sarawak, Malaysia; other foci of infection have been
- leading parasitic disease that causes mortality worldwide
- 655000 deaths in 2010; 3.3 billion are at risk
- identified by the WHO as one of the three major infectious
disease threats, along with AIDS/HIV and TB
- causes more than 5 million deaths a year
- leads to decreased social and economic productivity and
contributes to a vicious cycle of poverty and disease
- Young children and pregnant women are mostly affected
- anemia is cause by chronic malaria, it is associated with
impaired physical and mental growth and development in
children
- Anemia, in pregnancy, is a leading contributor to maternal
morbidity and mortality, and is associated with risk of cardiac
failure and adverse perinatal outcomes
-Anemia from malaria is also exacerbated by anemia from
concomitant helminth infections in both children and pregnant
women.
In 2000, the United Nations (UN) adopted a blueprint named
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
- MDG 6 aims to reduce the burden of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and
other diseases. The malaria component of MDG 6 includes
reducing incidence and mortality rates of the disease,
increasing insecticide-treated bed net coverage among
children below 5 years of age and increasing anti-malarial
coverage among children below 5 years of age.
Despite the high figures in mortality, the disease is curable if
promptly and adequately treated. The group of parasites
causing malaria belongs to the genus Plasmodium that is
transmitted by the bite of an infected female mosquito
belonging to the genus Anopheles. The four species that are
medically important to humans are Plasmodium falciparum, P.
vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae. The first two are responsible
for over 90% of all human malaria cases. More recently, P.
knowlesi has been described in humans in the Philippines and
most of Southeast Asia. P. knowlesi, considered the fifth
human malaria parasite, is normally a parasite of long-tailed
macaques (Macaca fascicularis), but humans working in
nearby forest fringe pose great risk for infection.
The first naturally acquired human infection was reported in
reported in Thailand and China as late as 2008. In the
Philippines, the first reported case of P. knowlesi was
described in 2006. Since then, the Research Institute for
Tropical Medicine (RITM) has reported nine cases of mixed
malaria infection, positive for P. knowlesi. The life cycle of P.
knowlesi is microscopically indistinguishable from P. malariae,
and differentiation is only achieved through polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) assay and molecular characterization. These
protozoans are pigment producers and are ameboid in shape,
with some being more ameboid than the others. Their asexual
cycle occurs in humans, the vertebrate and intermediate host,
while the sexual cycle occurs in the Anopheles mosquito, the
invertebrate and definitive host.
Parasite Biology
The asexual cycle in humans consists of schizogony, which
leads to the formation of merozoites, and gametogony, which
leads to the formation of gametocytes. The sexual cycle in the
mosquito involves sporogony, which leads to the formation of
sporozoites. The life cycles of all human species of malaria are
similar. The infected female Anopheles mosquito bites and
sucks blood from the human host. In the process, salivary
fluids containing sporozoites are also injected. These
sporozoites, the infective stage of the parasite, are immediately
carried to the liver and enter the parenchymal cells. The
parasites then commence exo-erythrocytic schizogony, which
produces the merozoites in varying duration and amounts,
depending on the species. Merozoites proceed to the
peripheral blood to enter the erythrocytes. Some merozoites of
P. vivax and P. ovale re-invade theliver cells forming
hypnozoites, while the other species do not. These dormant
exo-erythrocytic forms may remain quiet for years. Within the
red blood cell, the merozoite grows as a ring form developing
into a trophozoite. The trophozoite has an extended cytoplasm
and a large chromatin mass which further divides to form more
merozoites within schizonts. The merozoites of P. falciparum
develop in the parasitophorous vacuolar membrane (PVM)
within the mature red cells and modify the structural and
antigenic properties of these cells. The parasites feed on the
hemoglobin resulting in the production of pigment known as
hematin. Soon after, the erythrocytes rupture and the
merozoites are released into the blood, ready to enter new
erythrocytes. This asexual cycle is synchronous, periodic, and
speciesdetermined. Some merozoites develop into
microgametocytes (male) or macrogametocytes (female) which
are picked up by feeding female mosquitoes for completion of
the life cycle. In the gut of the mosquito, the male gametocytes Greetings in the name of St. Thomas Aquinas!
exflagellate and produce eight sperm-like microgametes which
may fertilize the female macrogamete to form a zygote. The
zygote becomes motile and penetrates the mosquito’s gut as Medical Technology Society (MTS), from the Faculty of
an ookinete, which then develops into an oocyst. The oocyst Pharmacy of the University of Santo Tomas, invites 360
grows and produces sporozoites, which escape from the Fitness Club Manila to become our sponsor for MTS events,
oocyst and enter the salivary glands of the mosquito. These this A.Y. 2019-2020.
sporozoites may be injected into another human host when the
mosquito takes a blood meal. The entire developmental cycle
in the mosquito takes 8 to 35 days, depending to some extent We believe your esteemed establishment embodies the
on ambient temperature. Morphologically, the early trophozoite Medical Technology Society’s mission as well as the
form is ring-shaped with a red chromatin dot and a scant Thomasian values.
amount of blue cytoplasm when stained with Giemsa or
Wright’s stain. The trophozoite form has a large chromatin
mass and a prominent ameboid cytoplasm, which is spread
through the erythrocyte. The parasite develops into a schizont
when the chromatin has divided into two or more masses of Attached are our packages for this academic year. Should you
chromatin with small amounts of cytoplasm, the so-called have any questions, feel free to reply to this email or contact
merozoites. The number of merozoites is species dependent. me at 0908 583 4645
Clumps of pigment accumulate in the middle of a mature
schizont. The gametocyte stage fills the entire red blood cell
and is characterized by a large chromatin mass and a blue
cytoplasm with pigment. It is round to banana-shaped. The
microgametocyte has a lighter blue cytoplasm, while the
cytoplasm of the macrogametocyte is a darker blue. Species
Kind regards,
identification depends on various characteristics of these
stages of development as described in Table 2.5.’

Reinzo Vittorio Cardenas

Sponsorships Executive Staff- Medical Technology Society

University of Santo Tomas