Plasmodium Malariae

Malaria is a mosquito borne disease caused by the protozoan, Plasmodium. The life cycle of malarial parasite comprises two phases namely the asexual phase in man and the sexual phase in the female Anopheles mosquito (Definitive host). Four different types of Malaria are recognized on the basis of period of recurrence of fever. They are 1. Tertian, Benign Tertian or Vivax malaria, caused by Plasmodium vivax. 2. Quartan Malaria caused by Plasmodium malariae 3. Mild Tertian or Ovale Malaria caused by Plasmodium ovale 4. Malignant Tertian or Pernicious Malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum Of the four, the malignant type is fatal. In malarial fever, the patient suffers from shaking chills, and sweating. As the chills subside, the body temperature may rise to 106 o F. The high fever is induced by the toxic haemozoin granules, which are liberated in plasma when the parasite schizonts burst out from the RBCS. The patient also suffers from severe anaemia due to destruction of erythrocytes. Other symptoms are e