Plasmodium malariae

Malaria is transmitted by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito, one of the few species of the insect capable of carrying the human malaria parasite. The responsible protozoa ate from the genus P/asmodium of which only four of some 100 species can cause the disease in humans. The remaining species affect rodents, reptiles, monkeys, birds, and Hvestock. The species that infect humans are P/asmodium falciparum Plasmodium vivax Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium ovale. Note that concomitant multiple malaria infections are commonly seen in endemic areas, a phenomenon that further compHcates choice of treatment. 

Plasmodium vivax, responsible for the most prevalent form of malaria (benign tertian), has an incubation period of 8—27 days (14 average). A variety seen in northern and northeastern Europe has an incubation period as long as 8—10 months. The disease can cause splenic mpture and anemia. Relapses (renewed manifestations of erythrocytic infection) can occur with this type of malaria. Overall, P. vivax is stiU susceptible to chloroquine however, resistant strains have been reported from Papua New Guinea and parts of Indonesia. Plasmodium malariae the cause of quartan malaria, has an incubation period of 15—30 days and its asexual cycle is 72 hours. This mildest form of malaria can cause nephritis in addition to the usual symptoms. It is a nonrelapsing type of malaria but the ted blood ceU infection can last for many years. No resistance to chloroquine by this plasmodium has been reported. Plasmodium ovale responsible for ovale tertian malaria, has an incubation period of 9—17 days (15 average). Relapses can occur in people infected with this plasmodium. No chloroquine resistance has been reported for this parasite. 

The malarial parasite is a single-cell protozoan (plas-modium). Although more than 100 species of plasmodia have been identified, only four are capable of infecting humans Plasmodium malariae, P. ovale, P. vivax, and P. falciparum) the rest attack a variety of animal hosts. P. falciparum and P. vivax malaria are the two most common forms. 

Patients who have blood transfusion malaria are infected with the asexual erythrocytic parasites only exoerythrocytic tissue forms apparently do not develop. Plasmodium malariae has been known to produce an infection after transfusion, even when the blood was obtained from a person whose only contact with malaria was 40 years previous to the donation of blood. 

Four principal species from the genus Plasmodium cause natural human infection Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium falciparum. P. falciparum is the most lethal as it causes approximately 90% of malaria-related deaths (1). An additional species, Plasmodium knowlesi, which generally infects macaques, has also been shown increasingly to infect humans as well (4). As more sophisticated diagnostic tests are now able to easily distinguish one species of Plasmodium from another, it is thought that infection with P. knowlesi has heretofore been underreported because this species morphologically resembles other Plasmodium species in blood smears (5). 

Plasmodium malaria—produces typical malaria symptoms but can persist in the blood for very long periods (decades) while remaining asymptomatic, it can infect others via blood transfusions or mosquito bites. 

The total dose of chloroquine base over 3 days should be approximately 25 mg/kg base. This is sufficient for Plasmodium malariae infection but, for Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale eradication of the hepatic parasites is necessary to prevent relapse, by giving ... 

Quartan malaria is caused by Plasmodium malariae (incubation period of 18-40 days), tertian malaria by Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale (incubation period of 10 to 18 days), and tropical malaria by Plasmodium falciparum (incubation period of 7 to 14 days) ... 

De Virgiliis S, Galanello R, Cao A. Plasmodium malariae transfusion malaria in splenectomized patients with thalassemia major. J Pediatr 1981 98(4) 584-5. 

MALARIA is a disease mostly in tropical areas, where it is a major medical problem. Malaria is caused by a parasitic protozoa of the genus Plasmodium and is transferred when an infected female mosquito of the genus Anopheles bites a person and Plasmodium sporozoites enter the blood, where they first reach the liver and develop into merozoites over a period of 5-7 days without giving any symptoms. Then the immature merozoites penetrate the red blood corpuscles, where they divide asexually to form merozoites. When this process is complete, the blood corpuscles rupture and the merozoites enter the blood plasma. The rupture of the erythrocyte membrane provokes a fever, which occurs every second day after infection with Plasmodium vivax, every third after infection with Plasmodium malaria after infection with the severe Plasmodium falciparum fever is more irregular, because the parasites of this species do not develop simultaneously. 

Bray, R. S. (1960). Studies on malaria in chimpanzees. VIII The experimental transmission and pre-erythrocytic phase of Plasmodium malariae with a note on the host range of the parasite. Am. ]. Trap. Med. Hyg. 9, 455-465. 

At present, there are two streams of drug discovery activity that could lead to the successful development of a kinase inhibitor as a drug for Plasmodium Malaria, namely in vitro screening activities around validated kinase targets and deconvolution of key targets revealed from the screening of various Malaria Boxes on various stages of the life cycle of the parasite. 

Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is a 4-aminoquinoline compound that interferes with parasitic nucleoprotein (DNA/ RNA) synthesis and parasite growth or causes lysis of parasite or infected erythrocytes. In rheumatoid arthritis, it may suppress formation of antigens responsible for symptom-producing hypersensitivity reactions. It is indicated for prophylaxis and treatment of acute attacks of malaria caused by Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium ovale, and susceptible strains of Plasmodium falciparum. It is also used for treatment of chronic discoid and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and acute or chronic rheumatoid arthritis in patients not responding to other therapies. 

The causal organisms responsible for malaria belong to the genus plasmodium which is of the class of protozoa known as sporozoa. There are four different species which are accepted as being responsible for human malaria. These are Plasmodium malariae, the parasite of quartan malaria Plasmodium vivax, the parasite of benign tertian malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite of malignant or sub tertian malaria, and Plasmodium ovale, the parasite that causes a mild type of tertian malaria. 

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