QUESTION I recently read an ISOS world malaria day poster saying 5 species of plasmodium cause malaria. I think that is confusing as we always talked about 4, ovale, vivax, falciparum and malaria....are they referring to the way we now split ovale into 2 sub species? or is this a typo on their part? ANSWER That is a really interesting question, and a good observation on your part! I … [Read more...]
What is “Pf” and “Pv” in relation to malaria?
QUESTION: What is pf and pv? ANSWER: "Pf" stands for Plasmodium falciparum and "Pv" stands for Plasmodium vivax. These are two different species of the parasite that causes malaria in humans. Pf causes the most acute, severe form of the disease, which can have a cerebral manifestation ("cerebral malaria") and causes the most deaths worldwide. Pv is still a serious disease, but usually … [Read more...]
What are the strains of malaria?
QUESTION: What are the different strains of malaria? ANSWER: Malaria is caused by small, single-celled parasites called protozoans, and specifically ones of the genus Plasmodium. There are many, many species of Plasmodium, which infect a wide variety of different species, from lizards and birds to rodents, bats and primates. Of all the species of malaria, four main ones infect humans - … [Read more...]
Causes of Malaria
QUESTION: What causes malaria? ANSWER: Malaria is a disease caused by a parasitic single-celled animal known as Plasmodium. There are different species of Plasmodium, which cause different kinds of malaria. The main types which infect humans are P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae. The parasite is transmitted by certain species of mosquito; the parasite lives in the human … [Read more...]
How Many Types of Human Malaria?
QUESTION: How many types of malaria infect humans? ANSWER: There are four main types of malaria which infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. ovale. P. ovale additionally can be split into two sympatric sub-species, P. o. curtisi and P. o. wallikeri. Each of these five kinds has a subtly different life cycle which results in slight variations in symptoms and … [Read more...]