Malaria Parasite

1. Malarial parasite
Presented by :
MARIAM RAZI
B.S Medical Technology 5
th
semester

2. MALARIA
Italian, Mala “bad” aria “air”
•Malaria is a mosquito borne parasitic disease
•Caused by plasmodium parasites
•Transmitted by the sting of the Anopheles mosquito or
by a contaminated needle or transfusion
•Tropical and subtropical regions
•300 to 500 million cases annually
•Mortality rate is 1.1-2.7 million / year
•One death every 20 to 30 seconds, somewhere in the
world

3. HISTORY OF MALARIA
•The first evidence of malaria
parasites had been found in
mosquitoes preserved in amber
from the Paleogene period that
are approximately 30 million
years old

4. •500 B.C_ Hippocrates
Classified the fever types
Noted relation ship b/w
enlarged spleen and
marshes
•First Century AD_ Roman
writers
Attributed malarial diseases
to the swamps

5. •1880-laveran_ discovered plasmodium in human blood
•1885- Golgi_ erythrocytic schizogony in man
•1894 – Manson_ role of mosquito in malaria
•1857-Ronald Ross _ sexual cycle in mosquito
•1948-Short and Graham _ pre erythrocytic schizogony

•1969 – Rudzinska – fine structure of plasmodium

6. Malarial parasite
•There are four species of Plasmodium that cause
Malaria in man :
P. falciparum (malignant, TERTIAN)
P. vivax (benign, TERTIAN)
 P. ovale (TERTIAN)
P. malariae (QUARTAN)

7. Life cycle of
malarial parasite

8. Lab Diagnosis
Method used to diagnose:
•Microscopy
•Serology – Rapid Diagnostic Tests
•Molecular biology method (PCR)

9. Microscopy
•Gold standard
•Highly sensitive, specific
•Laboratory diagnosis of malaria can by made through
microscopic examination of thick or thin blood
smear
Thick smears are used for screening
purposes
Thin smears are for morphological detail
and species identification

10. Appearance of thick and thin smear

11. Staining methods
•Giemsa staining

•Lieshman's stain
•Field’s stain

12. Microscopic Findings
•The four Plasmodium species that cause human malaria can
be distinguished most of the time (but not always) based on
the morphology of their blood stages
The distinguishable stages:
• Ring form trophozoite
• Trophozoite
• Shizont
• Gametocyte

13. DIAGNOSTIC POINTS
Golden brown granules Black or dark brown Pigment
P. vivaxP. falciparum
Spherical; compact
Large; 12-18 merozoite;
arranged irregularly
Irregular, amoeboid
Thick ring , often
irregular
one chromatin dot
Schuffner's dots
Amoeboid
Enlarged
Gametocyte
Schizont
Trophozoite
Ring
Stippling
RBC Shape
RBC Size
Crescent shape
Medium size; rarely seen in peripheral
blood 19-32 merozoite
Ring enlarged slightly irregular
Fine ring, multiple infection
1-2 small chromatin dots
Rarely, Maurer’s clefts can be seen.
Round, sometimes crenated
Not enlarged

14. Trophozoite
Shizont
Gametocyte
Maurer's clefts.
Ring
P. falciparum

15. Trophozoite
Gametocyte
Shizont
Rings
P. vivax

16. DIAGNOSTIC POINTS
P.OVALEP.MALRIAE
Like P. vivax, but smaller
Medium size; 8-14
merozoite arranged
irregularly
Round , compact
Rings large and coarse,
one chromatin dot.
Black to brownish-black.
Schuffner's dots
Fimbriation
Enlarged
Similar to P. vivax, but smaller
Small; 9-10 merozoite arranged as
rosette
Band forms are a characteristic of
this species.
Thick ring; one chromatin dot
Dark black.
Ziemann's dots,
Elongation
Not enlarged
Gametocyte
Schizont
Trophozoite
Ring
Pigment
Stippling
RBC Shape
RBC Size

17. Rings
Trophozoite
Shizont
Gametocyte
P.MALRIAE

18. Rings
Trophozoite
Shizont Gametocyte
P.OVALE

19. Reporting of blood film
•1-10 per 100 high power fields….........................+
•11-100 per 100 high power fields…………………+ +
•1-10 in every high power fields……………………. + + +
•More than 10 in every high power fields………….. + + + +

20. Other findings :
•Normocytic and normchromic
•Hemoglobin: Anemia is common in malaria.
•Reticulocytes count: Reticulocytosis
•Total leukocyte count: Leukopenia is seen
•Platelet count: Thrombocytopenia
•Prothrombin time : Rises

21. 81.4%
17.9%
1%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
90.0%
P.vivaxP.falciparumP.vivax &
falciparum
P.vivax
P.falciparum
P.vivax &
falciparum
MALARIAL PARASITE REPORTED IN LNH
2008

22. COMPLICATIONS
•Cerebral malaria
•Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
•Black water fever (severe hemolysis)
• Renal failure
• Tropical splenomegaly syndrome (TSS)
• Bone Marrow Depression
• Hypoglycemia
• Anemia

23. Malaria control
Spry insecticides :(e.g. DDT)
Use mosquito nets,
screen, or mosquito
repellents to protect the
person from mosquito
bites.
Reconstruction of environment: eradicate the
breeding places of mosquitoes.