Plasmodium Falciparum Life Cycle

Plasmodium Falciparum Causes

Plasmodium falciparum is the protozoan parasite, which is among those species of the Plasmodium. This causes the malaria infection in humans. This plasmodium falciparum is transmitted to the humans by the female mosquito called the Anopheles mosquito. Plasmodium falciparum is considered to be the most dangerous of all these infections. This is because Plasmodium falciparum or as it is some times referred to as malignant malaria is found to have the highest rates of mortality and complications. As of the year 2006 it has been found to have accounted for almost 91% of the total 247 million malarial infections. It is found to be more prevalent in the sub Saharan African region as compared to most other regions of the world.

Life Cycle of Plasmodium Falciparum

The life cycle in the case of all the Plasmodium species is considered to be very complex. Infection of these species among humans begins with just the bite of the infected female mosquito or the Anopheline mosquito. The Sporozoites are then released from the mosquito’s salivary glands. These enter the person’s bloodstream during the feeding and continue on to invade all the liver cells very fast. Sporozoites are then cleared out from the circulation of the human within the next 30 minutes. During the following 2 weeks in the case of the Plasmodium falciparum, all the liver parasites then differentiate and then undergo an asexual multiplication. This results in almost tens of thousands of these merozoites which then burst out from a hepatoctye.

Individual merozoites then go on to invade all the red blood cells or the erythrocytes and will also undergo an extra round of the multiplication. This thus ends up producing almost 12 to16 merozoites within the schizont. The length or the period of this particular erythrocytic stage of this Plasmodium falciparum parasite life cycle then rests on the actual parasite species. The Plasmodium falciparum takes 48 hours or 2 days, along with the Plasmodium vivax. The Plasmodium ovale would also take the same 48 hours, while the Plasmodium malariae would take about 3 days. The clinical or visible manifestations of fever, malaria and chills, all are associated with the infected erythrocyte. Those merozoites which are released go on next to invade the additional erythrocytes. Among most medical professionals or doctors the preferred and often used method to diagnose a malaria condition is done by examination of the person’s blood film under a microscope. This also helps to determine which of the species of Plasmodium are actually causing this infection in the human body.