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A mosquito bite transmits malaria, but what causes the disease?
No one really likes mosquitoes. Michael and Leon really dislike them, because one of them got into their tent and woke them up. They look small and harmless, but mosquitoes can spread an infectious disease which can be very dangerous [...] MALARIA. Have you ever thought why mosquito bites itch so much? When a mosquito sticks its tube-like stinger through the skin, it releases some saliva into the body.
The saliva causes an allergic reaction, which causes the itching. But it gets worse than that if the mosquito is infected! In that case, the saliva is full of parasites from the Plasmodium group, which cause MALARIA. When the saliva enters the body through the stinger, so do the parasites. From there, the parasites will travel in the blood towards the liver.
When the parasites reach the liver, they enter the liver cells, where they grow and multiply. Now there are a lot of parasites inside the cell, and the cell bursts. The parasites are in the blood again and spread around the body. In the blood, the parasites enter the red blood cells. There, they grow into adult parasites and cause the cells to die.
Very many red blood cells die, which triggers: very high fever, pain, and chills - the SYMPTOMS of MALARIA. At this stage, [...] when a non-infected mosquito bites a person with malaria, it will suck up the parasites together with the blood. The mosquito then becomes infected. Now Plasmodium parasites are in the mosquito again. They will multiply in the gut and then move to the saliva - ready to infect a new person.
Malaria is present mostly in the tropical regions - in Africa, Central and South America, South and Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. More than two hundred million people in these areas have malaria, and about half a million people die every year because of the disease. This is why it’s important to avoid mosquitoes to prevent the spread of the disease! Sleeping under a net or spraying mosquito repellent on the net and the body, are just some ways to decrease the risk of a mosquito bite. Good job Leon, you got it!
Now you can go back to sleep. But next time you go camping, remember to bring the insect repellent!