diseases caused by protists

Question 1

What type of pathogen causes malaria?

Answer 1

caused by protist pathogens that enter red blood cells and damage them

Question 2

How is malaria transmitted?

Answer 2

-by a vector - the vector is the female Anopheles mosquito, in which the protists reproduce sexually,

-when the mosquito punctures the skin to feed on the blood, the protists enter the human bloodstream via their saliva

Question 3

What are the symptoms of malaria?

Answer 3

-fever

Question 4

What is the treatment for malaria?

Answer 4

-no preventative medecine that prevents infection

-main treatment is use of antimalarial drugs over long period of time

Question 5

How can the spread of malaria be controlled/prevented?

Answer 5

-removing stagnant water to stop mosquitoes (vectors) from breeding

-use mosquito nets

-vector control - using insecticide coated nets while sleeping to avoid being bitten

-kill mosquitoes

-travellers taking antimalarial drugs to kill parasites that enter the blood
(isolate + treat infected individuals)