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The Microscopic Diagnosis of Malaria

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Course Introduction   |   Overview   |   Plasmodium falciparum   |   Plasmodium vivax

Plasmodium ovale   |   Plasmodium malariae   |   Other infections   |   Tests

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Lesson 1 Overview of Species

Plasmodium falciparum is the agent of severe, potentially fatal malaria, causing an estimated 700,000 to 2.7 million deaths annually. Most of these deaths are among young children living in Africa.

 

Plasmodium vivax and P. ovale can lay dormant in the liver. Called hypnozoites at this stage, these parasites can reactivate, or relapse, producing symptoms from malaria several months or years after the bite from an infected mosquito.

 

Plasmodium malariae produces chronic infection, and if left untreated, the infection can persist without symptoms in the human host for years, even a lifetime.

P. ovale trophozoites, thin film