Malaria

Malaria is a parasitic disease. A parasitic disease is an infection caused by parasites.  A mosquito will bite a person and the parasite will enter its new human host. It then enters the blood stream of that human and infects the blood cells, causing them to burst. There are five known species that infect humans through malaria.

• P. falciparum is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical areas.
• P. vivax is found mostly in Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa. 
• P. ovale is found mostly in Africa (especially West Africa) and the islands of the Pacific.
• P. malariae is found worldwide and is the only human malaria species that has a three-day cycle. 



Here is a microscopic image of malaria-infected blood cells. The darker purple
areas are the infected parts. They are darker because those cells have burst open
from the parasites. These cells in particular are infected by P. vivax, meaning
the affected person was probably either in Asia, Latin America, or Africa when
the parasites entered their body.

• The last species is P. knowlesi, which is found in Southeast Asia, and has a one day cycle instead of a two or three day cycle. 

This picture is fascinating to me
because when I'm older I want to be a parasitologist, meaning I want to be the type of doctor who works with people who have parasitic diseases. I would help people with malaria most likely, too, so that makes it even more amazing.  


 Credit: Photo-Malaria   
Info-Malaria info