61 - Malaria (w/ TJ Russell!)

61. Malaria (w/ TJ Russell!)

Carried by throngs of buzzing mosquitos, the malaria parasite contributes significantly to global morbidity and mortality. Today, we’ll discuss the definition of a parasite, what malaria is, and how Disney fought the good fight. Let’s learn to be scientifically conversational.

Convince TJ to get a Twitter!

General Learning Concepts

1)     What is a parasite?

a.     What is an infection? “Infections are caused by microscopic organisms known as pathogens—bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites—that enter the body, multiply, and interfere with normal functions.”

i.     What is a micro-organism?

b.     What is disease? Infection, often the first step, occurs when bacteria, viruses or other microbes that cause disease enter your body and begin to multiply. Disease occurs when the cells in your body are damaged — as a result of the infection — and signs and symptoms of an illness appear.

c.      What is zoonosis? The CDC and WHO define zoonosis (or zoonotic disease) as any disease or infection that is naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans. Zoonoses can be caused by bacteria, parasites, fungi, or viruses. [2]

d.     What is a parasite? A parasitic relationship is one in which one organism, the parasite, lives off of another organism, the host, harming it and possibly causing death. The parasite lives on or in the body of the host. Usually, although parasites harm their hosts, it is in the parasite's best interest not to kill the host, because it relies on the host's body and body functions, such as digestion or blood circulation, to live.

2)     What is malaria?

a.     Malaria: A single celled protozoan parasite spread by mosquitos. Not all types of the parasite (called plasmodium) cause malaria in humans.

b.     The malaria life cycle: Starts in an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Bites a human and transfers the sporozoites parasite form into the human bloodstream, which passes to the live. The liver is the site of asexual reproduction. From the liver, merozoites form of the parasite travel to the heart and eventually the lungs. Red blood cells are invaded and used for replication / multiplication, which causes the typical malarial fever. These cycles can lead to sexual reproduction (the gametocyte form) that can continue circulating in the blood. Mosquitos can ingest gametocytes, which develop into gametes. Within the mosquito, sporozoites can develop once again to continue the cycle.

3)     Why is malaria important for research today?

4)     Fun Tidbits

a.     Rare malaria exchange: Blood transfusions and needle sharing.

b.     The Winged Scourge: A Disney animated film from 1943 (featuring the Seven Dwarves and no Snow White) dealing with malaria and mosquitoes!

c.      An illness fit for a president: Eight presidents of the U.S. were believed to have contracted malaria: Washington, Lincoln, Monroe, Jackson, Grant, Garfield, Roosevelt, Kennedy.

5)     Solicited Questions

a.     How soon will a person feel sick from being bitten by an infected mosquito? “For most people, symptoms begin 10 days to 4 weeks after infection, although a person may feel ill as early as 7 days or as late as 1 year later. Two kinds of malaria, P. vivax and P. ovale, can occur again (relapsing malaria). In P. vivax and P. ovale infections, some parasites can remain dormant in the liver for several months up to about 4 years after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito. When these parasites come out of hibernation and begin invading red blood cells (“relapse”), the person will become sick.”