By: Krish & Ivan

 Starts from a parasite.  Cause: Mostly females will transmit the parasite.  The parasite flows through the blood vessels into the liver.  Blood transfusion is dangerous because the patient could have malaria.  cases of malaria occur and 1 million die each year from malaria.

Malaria is one of the most ubiquitous diseases known, there are more than 125 species different specific of malaria that infect mammals, birds and reptiles which indicates an early origin.

Central: Headache Systemic: Fever Muscular: Fatigue/Pain Back: Pain Skin: Chills/Sweating Respiratory: Dry cough Spleen: Enlargement Stomach: Nausa/Vomiting

The life cycle of malaria parasites: A mosquito causes infection by taking a blood meal. First, sporozoites enter the bloodstream, and migrate to the liver. They infect liver cells, where they multiply into merozoites, rupture the liver cells, and return to the bloodstream. Then, the merozoites infect red blood cells, where they develop into ring forms, trophozoites and schizonts that in turn produce further merozoites. Sexual forms are also produced, which, if taken up by a mosquito, will infect the insect and continue the life cycle.

Toby Fagan is the scientist who found malaria. He is a professor in Edinburgh university. Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, a French army doctor, was the first to identify parasites inside the blood cells of malaria patients an thus reached the conclusion the disease is caused by an organism.

The mosquitos make up the family Culicidae. These insects have a pair of scaled wings, a pair of halteres, a slender body, and long legs. The females of most mosquito species suck blood (hematophagy) from other animals. This blood sucking characteristic has made mosquitoes one of the most deadly vectors known to man, killing millions of people over thousands of years and continuing to kill millions per year by the spread of diseases. Mosquitoes breed faster when temperatures are high. Low temperatures and low humidity cause slow breeding and higher mortality rates. When the temperature drops, mosquitoes are less prone to transmit disease because, in cooler weather, they switch from a blood diet to sugar from plants to provide energy for winter survival.

Mosquitoes weigh only about 2 to 2.5 mg (0.03 to 0.04 grain). A mosquito can travel up to 10 km in a night, and fly for 1 to 4 hours continuously at up to 1-2 km/h[5]. Most species are nocturnal or dawn or evening feeders (crepuscular). During the heat of the day most mosquitoes land in a cool place and wait for the evenings. They may still bite if disturbed. Female mosquitoes lay their eggs one at a time or together in rafts of a hundred or more eggs on the surface in fresh or any stagnant water. Anopheles and Aides mosquitoes do not make egg rafts but lay their eggs separately. Culex, Culiseta, and Anopheles lay their eggs on water while Aedes lay their eggs on damp soil that is periodically flooded by water. Most eggs hatch into larvae in about 48 hours. A female mosquito may lay a raft of eggs every third night during its life span if it can find enough blood to develop the eggs.

Both dry and wet weather can benefit the infectious mosquito population. Dry spells can help lengthen the mosquito's life cycle, allowing time for diseases to multiply in the infected body and move to the salivary glands. When it's dry, mosquitoes retreat to cool, damp areas to wait for rain. In that type of hibernation, any infection in their saliva becomes more powerful. After rain, puddles and standing water provide ideal locations for breeding more mosquitoes. Mosquitos bites and suck blood in HD (macro) - YouTube