What Is Plasmodium Falciparum?

One of the four types of malaria parasites that parasitize the human body, causing the pathogen of malaria. P. falciparum hosts human and female Anopheles mosquitoes. Proliferation of schizont and initiation of gamete reproduction in the human body. Gamete reproduction and spore proliferation are completed in the mosquito. Co-development sites in humans are liver cells and red blood cells.

Plasmodium falciparum

One of four malaria parasites that parasitize the human body, causing

Mainly by peripheral blood smear examination.

Plasmodium vivax is treated with chloroquine phosphate and primary aminoquinoline phosphate, Plasmodium falciparum is treated with chloroquine, and anti-chloroquine strains should be treated with artemisinin, quinine, pyracridine, sulfadoxine, and pyrimethamine

On October 3, the journal Nature published a paper on the genome analysis of Plasmodium falciparum and compared it with the genome of the rodent malaria parasite P. yoeliiyoelii. This is an important milestone, marking that humans have cracked the complex genetic code of the most lethal pathogenic parasite.

It took six years to sequence the genome of P. falciparum. The genetic code of Plasmodium is so difficult to crack because 80% of its genome consists of only two bases, which makes it

A transnational research project led by Harvard School of Public Health and the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Broad Institute) will analyze the gene sequence of Plasmodiumfalciparum, which causes malaria, in complete accordance with related fields. The scientists said that this in-depth and complete analysis of the genetic sequence of pathogenic bacteria will be a milestone for humans to use genetic sequences to fight disease.

According to data from the World Health Organization, malaria is one of the most serious infectious diseases that threaten human life in the world today, especially in developing countries and some poor areas. Different types of malaria parasites are constantly affecting human health. Attacks, such as those in poor and backward Africa, kill one person every 30 seconds from an infection caused by malaria. Although some drugs can prevent the epidemic from worsening, effective drugs often accelerate the development of resistant strains. The mutation rate, in turn, makes malaria uncontrollable spread.

This time, a multinational research team initiated by American scientists targeted the Plasmodium falciparum, the most lethal protozoan Plasmodiumfalciparum. The researchers analyzed each of the parasites collected from 50 different infected areas. The complete sequence of the Plasmodium parasites, after in-depth comparison analysis, found that there are up to 47,000 special single nucleotide polymorphisms (Single nucleotidet polymorphisms) sites, which are present in the Plasmodium with altered genes. At present researchers have published preliminary results in natural genes In the journal NatureGenetics, I hope to gather more power from the scientific community and use the decoded clues early to find a new generation of more effective drugs.

Xinhuanet, Paris, May 1st (Reporter Li Xuemei) French and American scientists said recently that they have discovered the resistance mechanism of Plasmodium falciparum to artemisinin drugs. This discovery will help scientists to study new treatments for malaria.

According to the French National Research Center, about one million people die of malaria every year worldwide, but the medical community has not yet developed an effective vaccine against this infectious disease. As a species of Plasmodium, Plasmodium falciparum is extremely pathogenic. It mainly exists in tropical regions of Africa, South America, and Asia and is associated with 80% of human malaria. For more than ten years, the medical community has been using artemisinin and its derivatives to treat patients. It has not only a high cure rate, but also quick results. But scientists have found that a small number of P. falciparum have shown resistance to artemisinin, which has sounded the alarm for malaria control.

To this end, the institution cooperated with the French Institute of Health and Medical Research and the National Institutes of Health to study the drug-resistant mechanism of Plasmodium falciparum. Scientists found that when artemisinin exerted its effect, It will enter a "dormant state", and once the effect is over, it will "wake up" again, but only P. falciparum in the first stage of the red blood cell parasitic cycle has this ability.

The researchers believe that this discovery will help scientists better understand the drug resistance mechanism of malaria parasites and thus improve the treatment of malaria. Relevant research results have been published in the latest issue of the monthly "Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy" in the United States.

Malaria is a disease caused by Plasmodium, mostly transmitted by mosquitoes, and it is more common in tropical and subtropical areas. Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, which can cause death in severe cases. ^[1]