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The causative organism of malaria is a protozoan, Plasmodium falciparium, that is carried by the female Anopheles mosquito. [4] Malaria is recorded as the most common disease in Sub-Saharan Africa, and some Asian countries with the highest number of deaths. [5] Studies have shown the increased prevalence of this disease since 2015. [6]
As a protist, Plasmodium is a eukaryote of the phylum Apicomplexa. Unusual characteristics of this organism in comparison to general eukaryotes include the rhoptry, micronemes, and polar rings near the apical end. Plasmodium is known best for the infection it causes in humans, namely, malaria.
Protozoan infections are responsible for diseases that affect many different types of organisms, including plants, animals, and some marine life. Many of the most prevalent and deadly human diseases are caused by a protozoan infection, including African sleeping sickness , amoebic dysentery , and malaria .
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and Anopheles mosquitoes. [6] [7] [3] Human malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, fatigue, vomiting, and headaches. [1] [8] In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death.
Some protists are significant parasites of animals (e.g.; five species of the parasitic genus Plasmodium cause malaria in humans and many others cause similar diseases in other vertebrates), plants [178] [179] (the oomycete Phytophthora infestans causes late blight in potatoes) [180] or even of other protists.
Some of these can cause severe disease in primates, while others can remain in the host for prolonged periods without causing disease. [26] Many other mammals also carry Plasmodium species, such as a variety of rodents, ungulates, and bats. Again, some species of Plasmodium can cause severe disease in some of these hosts, while many appear not ...
Protists are distributed across all major groups of eukaryotes, including those that contain multicellular algae, green plants, animals, and fungi. If photosynthetic and fungal protists are distinguished from protozoa, they appear as shown in the phylogenetic tree of eukaryotic groups.
Plasmodium vivax is a protozoal parasite and a human pathogen.This parasite is the most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring malaria. [2] Although it is less virulent than Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of the five human malaria parasites, P. vivax malaria infections can lead to severe disease and death, often due to splenomegaly (a pathologically enlarged spleen).