Q.Write down the names of four species of malarial parasite. Mention the type of malaria caused by them.
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Malaria is a vector-borne disease caused by the protist Plasmodium (species P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae, P. falciparum — only P. falciparum typically causes serious/fatal illness), transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito.
Symptoms appear 7-15 days after an infective bite: the classical sign is a cyclic high fever with sweating and shivering, recurring every two-three days, plus vomiting, joint pain, anaemia, haemoglobinuria, hepatomegaly and, in severe P. falciparum cases, cerebral malaria. …
Malaria in humans is caused by four species of the protozoan Plasmodium. …
Four Plasmodium species: vivax (benign tertian), falciparum (malignant/cerebral), malariae (quartan), ovale (ovale tertian).
Concept. Malaria is caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium, transmitted by the bite of the infected female Anopheles mosquito. Four species infect humans, each producing a characteristic fever pattern:
| Species | Type of malaria | Fever periodicity |
|---|---|---|
| Plasmodium vivax | Benign tertian malaria | every 48 h (3rd day) |
| Plasmodium falciparum | Malignant tertian / cerebral malaria (most severe, can be fatal) | ~48 h, irregular |
- CBSE 2026Set EG1 markQ.Malaria disease is transmitted by which organism?
›Reveal solutionSolution
Malaria is spread by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito (vector of Plasmodium).
Malaria is caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium (species such as P. vivax, P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale). The parasite is not transmitted directly between people; it needs a vector. When a female Anopheles mosquito bites an infected person it takes up the parasite, which multiplies in the mosquito, and it then injects the infective stage (sporozoites) into the next healthy person during a blood meal. Thus …
- CBSE 2026Set A1 markMCQQ.What type of organism is the pathogen responsible for malaria?(a) Virus(b) Bacteria(c) Protozoa(d) Nematode
›Reveal solutionSolution
Malaria is caused by a protozoan, Plasmodium (transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito).
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium (species such as P. vivax, P. falciparum), which is a protozoan parasite. It is transmitted from person to person through the bite of an infected femal …
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Which species of plasmodium causes most severe and fatal malignant malaria?(a) P. Vivax(b) P. Malaria(c) P. Falciparum(d) P. Ovale
›Reveal solutionSolution
Of the human malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum causes malignant tertian malaria, the deadliest form.
Several Plasmodium species infect humans - P. vivax, P. malariae, P. ovale and P. falciparum - transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito. Among these, P. falciparum causes the most severe, malignant form of malaria, which can be fatal …
- CBSE 2025Set 57/4/11 markMCQQ.Assertion (A) : A person infected with malaria suffers from chill and high fever, recurring every three or four days. Reason (R) : The parasite attacks the RBC resulting in their rupture and release of haemozoin.
›Reveal solutionSolution
The characteristic recurring chills and high fever in malaria are indeed caused by the synchronous rupture of red blood cells and the release of toxins like haemozoin by the Plasmodium parasite, making both the assertion and reason correct, with the reason explaining the assertion.
Malaria is a disease whose symptoms are directly tied to the life cycle of the Plasmodium parasite within the human body. Understanding this cycle, particularly the phase involving red blood cells, is key to grasping why the symptoms manifest as they do. The recurrent fever and chills are not random; they are a precise biological event.
When an infected Anopheles mosquito bites a human, it injects sporozoites. These travel to the liver, multiply, and then release merozoites into the bloodstream. It is when these merozoites invade red blood cells (RBCs) that the symptomatic phase of malaria begins. Inside the RBCs, the parasites grow and multiply, consuming hemoglobin. This process culminates in the synchronized rupture of a large number of infected RBCs, releasing new parasites and metabolic byproducts, including haemozoin, into the bloodstream. This sudden release triggers a strong inflammatory response from the host's immune system, leading to the characteristic chills and high fever. The periodicity of these symptoms directly reflects the duration of the asexual reproductive cycle of the parasite within the RBCs.
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Analyze Assertion (A): "A person infected with malaria suffers from chill and high fever, recurring every three or four days."
- This statement is factually correct. The clinical presentation of malaria typically involves bouts of chills followed by high fever. The recurrence pattern is characteristic: for example, Plasmodium vivax and P. ovale cause tertian malaria, where fever recurs every 48 hours (on the third day), while Plasmodium malariae causes quartan malaria, with fever recurring every 72 hours (on the fourth day). P. falciparum can also exhibit a tertian pattern or more irregular fevers. Thus, the assertion accurately describes the disease's symptoms.
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Analyze Reason (R): "The parasite attacks the RBC resulting in their rupture and release of haemozoin." …
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- CBSE 2025Set F1 markMCQQ.Which of the following is a source of quinine?(a) Canabis(b) Cinchona(c) Poppy(d) Eucalyptus
›Reveal solutionSolution
Quinine, used against malaria, comes from the bark of Cinchona.
Quinine is an alkaloid extracted from the bark of the Cinchona tree; it has long been used as an anti-malarial drug (acting against the Plasmodium parasite). Cannabis yields drugs of abuse (cannabinoids), Papaver (poppy) …
- CBSE 2025Set F1 markMCQQ.Which of the following is a pathogen of malaria?(a) Plasmodium(b) Wuchereria(c) Sacromyces(d) Puccinia
›Reveal solutionSolution
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium.
Malaria is caused by the protozoan parasite of the genus Plasmodium (species such as P. vivax, P. malariae and the most serious P. falciparum). The parasite is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito, which acts as the vector.
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- CBSE 2025Set A1 markQ.Write True / False: Malaria disease is caused by Plasmodium in human.
›Reveal solutionSolution
The statement is True: malaria is caused by Plasmodium, a protozoan parasite.
Malaria is caused by species of the protozoan genus Plasmodium (e.g., P. vivax, P. falciparum), transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. The parasite multiplies within red blood cells, and its periodic rele …
- CBSE 2024Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Give the scientific name of the protozoa which causes Malignant Malaria disease.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Malignant (the most severe form of) malaria is caused by the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum.
Malaria is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium, transmitted by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito.
- Plasmodium falciparum causes malignant tertian malaria, the most severe and potentially fatal form, which can lead to complications like cerebral malaria. …
- CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Which of the following parasites is the causative organism of malaria?(a) Ascaris(b) Plasmodium(c) Salmonella(d) Rhino virus
›Reveal solutionSolution
Malaria is a protozoan disease caused by Plasmodium, spread by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito.
Among the options: Ascaris is a roundworm (causes ascariasis, a helminthic disease); Salmonella typhi is a bacterium (causes typhoid); Rhinovirus causes the common cold. Plasmodium is a unicellular protozoan parasite that completes part of its life cycle in the human liver and red blood cells (causing the characteristi …
- CBSE 2021Set OC_ZOOLOGY1 markMCQQ.Malaria is caused by(a) Entamoeba sp.(b) Ascaris sp.(c) Plasmodium sp.(d) Wuchereria sp.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Malaria is a protozoan disease caused by Plasmodium species, transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito vector.
The causative agent
Malaria in humans is caused by species of the protozoan genus Plasmodium — chiefly P. vivax and the more severe P. falciparum, and also P. malariae and P. ovale. The parasite is injected into the human bloodstream as sporozoites when an infected female Anopheles mosquito bites, multiplies inside liver cells and then red blood cells, and the periodic rupture of infected RBCs (releasing a toxic substance, haemozoin) causes the classic recurring high fever with chills.
Ruling out the other organisms
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- CBSE 2018Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Haemozoin and histamine are chemical substances released in the human body. Differentiate between the two.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Haemozoin and histamine are both released inside the body but from very different causes and cell types — haemozoin comes from a malaria parasite destroying red blood cells, while histamine comes from the body's own immune (mast) cells during an allergic response.
Haemozoin:
- Released when Plasmodium (the malaria-causing parasite) multiplies inside RBCs and ruptures them at the end of its erythrocytic schizogonic cycle.
- Haemozoin is a toxic, dark pigment (from digested haemoglobin) that is released along with other toxic substances into the blood when RBCs burst.
- Its release coincides with the recurring high fever and chills of malaria (occurring every 48 or 72 hours depending on the Plasmodium species).
Histamine:
- Released by mast cells (and basophils) as part of an allergic/immune (hypersensitivity) reaction, when an allergen binds to IgE antibodies already attached to these cells. …
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