Question

Plasmodium enters the human body through the bite of infected female Anopheles. Trace its life cycle till the onset of malaria in human. 

Answer 1

Life Cycle of Plasmodium Leading to Malaria: 

1. Entry into the Human Body: An infected female Anopheles mosquito bites a human and injects sporozoites (infective Plasmodium stage) into the bloodstream.
2. Liver Stage (Pre-Erythrocytic Cycle): During the liver stage (pre-erythrocytic cycle), spores enter liver cells and reproduce asexually to generate merozoites. The liver cells finally split and let the merozoites into the circulation.
3. Blood Stage (Erythrocytic Cycle): Merozoites infect and multiply in red blood cells (RBCs), causing them to burst and release more merozoites and poisonous compounds like hemozoin into the bloodstream. This induces fever and chills, which are typical of malaria.
4. Formation of gametocytes: Some merozoites differentiate into male and female gametocytes, which stay in the circulation. When another mosquito bites an infected individual, it consumes the gametocytes, completing the cycle.