What are the virulence factors of malaria?
PfEMP1 and rifin proteins are considered key virulence factors in P. falciparum. The PfEMP1, rifin and stevor proteins are encoded by members of the var, rif and stevor gene families, respectively [11,13,14].
Is malaria a virulence?
Malaria parasites cause much morbidity and mortality to their human hosts. From our evolutionary perspective, this is because virulence is positively associated with parasite transmission rate.
What is the most virulent type of malaria?
Plasmodium falciparum is the most deadly of the human malaria parasites. The particular virulence of this species derives from its ability to subvert the physiology of its host during the blood stages of its development.
What are the virulence factors of parasites?
Some parasite components are characterized as virulence factors that contribute to Leishmania pathogenesis and enable the parasite to invade and establish infection in the mammalian host [15]; these virulence factors include glicoinositolphospholipids (GIPLs), lipophosphoglycan (LPG), proteophosphoglycan (PPG) and the …
What are examples of virulence factors?
Factors that are produced by a microorganism and evoke disease are called virulence factors. Examples are toxins, surface coats that inhibit phagocytosis, and surface receptors that bind to host cells.
Which species of Plasmodium causes malaria?
The 5 Plasmodium species known to cause malaria in humans are P falciparum, P vivax, P ovale, P malariae, and P knowlesi. Timely identification of the infecting species is extremely important, as P falciparum infection can be fatal and is often resistant to standard chloroquine treatment.
What is the morphology of Plasmodium falciparum?
falciparum are elongated and crescent-shaped, by which they are sometimes identified. A mature gametocyte is 8–12 μm long and 3–6 μm wide. The ookinete is also elongated measuring about 18–24 μm. An oocyst is rounded and can grow up to 80 μm in diameter.
What are the different strains of malaria?
The Disease Four kinds of malaria parasites infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae.
What is meant by virulence factors?
Virulence factors are bacteria-associated molecules that are required for a bacterium to cause disease while infecting eukaryotic hosts such as humans. A surprisingly large number of virulence factors are encoded by prophage infecting bacterial pathogens, such as cholera toxin, Shiga toxin, and diphtheria toxin.
What are the virulence factors of bacteria?
Bacterial characteristics that reduce host health and/or survival are considered “virulence factors.” Such factors include structural features like flagella and pili that facilitate attachment to host cells (Josenhans and Suerbaum, 2002; Kazmierczak et al., 2015), as well as secreted products like toxins and enzymes …
What are the factors of malaria?
Malaria can cause high fever, chills, and flu-like symptoms that can be life-threatening when not treated quickly. The disease is caused by Plasmodium parasites , which are carried by Anopheles mosquitoes. Only female mosquitoes spread the malaria parasites.
Is malaria caused by a protozoan or parasite?
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by various species of the parasitic protozoan microorganisms called Plasmodium. Malaria is a disease that man has battled with for a long time. The first evidence of this protozoan came from mosquitoes preserved in amber nearly 30 million years ago.
What does malaria, falciparum mean?
Falciparum malaria: The most dangerous type of malaria, which is caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Falciparum malaria is associated with high levels of parasites in the blood and has the highest death rate and rate of complications of all types of malaria. Red blood cells that are infected with the parasite tend to sludge and lead to microinfarctions (tiny areas of dead tissue due to lack of oxygen) in capillaries in the brain, liver, adrenal gland, intestinal tract, kidneys