Paper Example: The Process of Malarial Infection

Eckhoff (2011) defines malaria as a form of infectious disease caused by a parasite called Plasmodium. Despite the existence of multiple species of the Plasmodium parasite, the Plasmodium falciparum is the most common one. Humans contract the parasite via a bite of an infected mosquito. People suffering from malaria tend to feel sick and experience high fever, and severe chills (Aly et al., 2009). This paper sequences the steps of malaria's infection process. The paper also describes what occurs at each stage of infection and how to break the process of transmission.

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Description of what is occurring in Each Step

The above illustration indicates that malaria infection occurs in nine different steps. The first step entails the injection of the parasite's sporozoites into the human body through a mosquito bite (Siliciano & Alano, 2015). Secondly, the sporozoites enter the liver to infect the hepatocytes. These sporozoites usually replicate via a process called mitosis. Afterward, the sporozoites rapture to release merozoites in the third stage. Fourthly, the merozoites enter the red blood cells and multiply via asexual reproduction. The fifth stage entails the production of gametocytes by the merozoites. Consequently, the sixth step involves the transmission of the gametocytes into the mosquito during a second bite. However, the second step involves the mating of the gametocytes before undergoing meiosis. In the eighth step, these gametocytes usually migrate through the wall of the mid-gut to develop oocysts (Aly et al., 2009; Siliciano & Alano, 2015). Lastly, sporozoites develop in the mosquito in preparation for a second infection in vulnerable populations.

How to Break the Transmission Chain at Each Stage

There are different strategies that people can effectively use to break the chain of malaria transmission at each stage. Prevention of the first stage should involve the adoption of strategic measures such as the use of treated mosquito nets to avoid insect bites (Aly et al., 2009; Eckhoff, 2011). Secondly using appropriate drugs such as artemether-lumefantrine (AL) is effective in breaking the chain of malaria infection in the successive stages. Lastly, additional preventive strategies such as draining swamps and using mosquito repellant jellies can help in preventing successive bites by the mosquito. Such bites could lead to re-infection.

Conclusion

Malaria remains a dangerous infectious disease. The disease occurs due to the infection caused by a bite from an infected female anopheles mosquito. However, the use of appropriate measures such as putting on mosquito-repellant materials in areas vulnerable to the disease could limit its effects. Therefore, society should undertake the necessary collaborative steps to eradicate the infection.

References

Aly, A. S. I., Vaughan, A. M., & Kappe, S. H. I. (2009). Malaria Parasite Development in the Mosquito and Infection of the Mammalian Host. Annual Review of Microbiology, 63(1), 195-221. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2841446/.

Eckhoff, P. (2011). A malaria transmission-directed model of mosquito life cycle and ecology. BMC Malaria Journal, 10(303), 122-126. Retrieved from: https://malariajournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2875-10-303.

Siliciano, G. & Alano, P. (2015). Enlightening the malaria parasite life cycle: bioluminescent Plasmodium in fundamental and applied research. Frontiers in Microbiology, 6(1, 123-125. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4426725/.