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Classification of Malaria Parasite

June 5, 2012 by Malaria Q&A

QUESTION

What is the classification of malaria?

ANSWER

Malaria is caused by a single celled protist of the genus Plasmodium. This genus is part of a Phylum of single-celled protist organisms called Apicomplexa.

The Apicomplexans mostly posses an organ called an apicoplast, which is part of an apical structure designed to aid entry into a host cell. The Apicomplexa is split into two Classes, of which Plasmodium belongs to the Aconoidasida (lacking a structure called a conoid, which is like a set of microtubules), and then to the Order Haemosporidia, which contains parasites which invade red blood cells. Within this Order, Plasmodium belongs to the Family Plasmodiidae, which all share numerous characteristics, including asexual reproduction in a vertebrate host and sexual reproduction in a definitive host (a mosquito, in the case of the Plasmodium species that infect all mammals, including humans).

In the case of human malarias, the definitive host is often referred to as the vector. The family contains about twelve genera, of which one is Plasmodium, which itself is now often divided up into numerous sub-genera, and then again into hundreds of different species, of which five infect humans (P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi).

Filed Under: Malaria Q&A Tagged With: Aconoidasida, Apicomplexa, apicoplast, classification, Haemosporidia, life history, Plasmodiidae, Plasmodium, protista, protists, red blood cells, taxonomy

Classification of Malaria

June 4, 2012 by Malaria Q&A

QUESTION

Classification of malaria

ANSWER

Malaria is caused by a single celled protist of the genus Plasmodium. This genus is part of a Phylum of single-celled protist organisms called Apicomplexa.

The Apicomplexans mostly posses an organ called an apicoplast, which is part of an apical structure designed to aid entry into a host cell. The Apicomplexa is split into two Classes, of which Plasmodium belongs to the Aconoidasida (lacking a structure called a conoid, which is like a set of microtubules), and then to the Order Haemosporidia, which contains parasites which invade red blood cells. Within this Order, Plasmodium belongs to the Family Plasmodiidae, which all share numerous characteristics, including asexual reproduction in a vertebrate host and sexual reproduction in a definitive host (a mosquito, in the case of the Plasmodium species that infect all mammals, including humans).

In the case of human malarias, the definitive host is often referred to as the vector. The family contains about twelve genera, of which one is Plasmodium, which itself is now often divided up into numerous sub-genera, and then again into hundreds of different species, of which five infect humans (P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi).

Filed Under: Malaria Q&A Tagged With: Anopheles, Apicomplexa, apicoplast, classification, definitive host, Plasmodium, Plasmodium Falciparum, Plasmodium Knowlesi, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium Ovale, Plasmodium Vivax

Malaria Parasite Classification

May 29, 2012 by Malaria Q&A

QUESTION

What is the classification of malaria?

ANSWER

Malaria is caused by a single celled protist of the genus Plasmodium. This genus is part of a Phylum of single-celled protist organisms called Apicomplexa.

The Apicomplexans mostly posses an organ called an apicoplast, which is part of an apical structure designed to aid entry into a host cell. The Apicomplexa is split into two Classes, of which Plasmodium belongs to the Aconoidasida (lacking a structure called a conoid, which is like a set of microtubules), and then to the Order Haemosporidia, which contains parasites which invade red blood cells. Within this Order, Plasmodium belongs to the Family Plasmodiidae, which all share numerous characteristics, including asexual reproduction in a vertebrate host and sexual reproduction in a definitive host (a mosquito, in the case of the Plasmodium species that infect all mammals, including humans).

In the case of human malarias, the definitive host is often referred to as the vector. The family contains about twelve genera, of which one is Plasmodium, which itself is now often divided up into numerous sub-genera, and then again into hundreds of different species, of which five infect humans (P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi).

Filed Under: Malaria Q&A Tagged With: Aconoidasida, Apicomplexa, apicoplast, classification, Haemosporidia, life history, Plasmodiidae, Plasmodium, protista, protists, red blood cells, taxonomy

Malaria Mosquito Classification

May 28, 2012 by Malaria Q&A

QUESTION

What is the classification of mosquito that cause malaria?

ANSWER

The mosquitoes that cause malaria in humans (and indeed also in all other mammals) all belong to the genus Anopheles. They belong to the family Culicidae, which also includes other disease vectors such as Culex and Aedes, which transmit other diseases such as dengue virus, lymphatic filariasis, West Nile virus and Japanese encephalitis, among many others. The Culicidae are part of the Diptera, or the “true flies” which possess a pair of wings and a pair of halteres. The Diptera are part of the class Insecta, which is found within the phylum Arthropoda, in the Kingdom Animalia.

Filed Under: Malaria Q&A Tagged With: Aedes, Animalia, Anopheles, Arthropoda, class, classification, Culex, Culicidae, Dengue Virus, Diptera, genus, halteres, Insecta, Japanese Encephalitis, lyphatic filariasis, phylum, taxonomy, West Nile Virus

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