Question

Cerebral malaria is caused by
(a) Plasmodium vivax
(b) Plasmodium ovale
(c) Plasmodium malariae
(d) Plasmodium falciparum

Answer 1

Hint: Cerebral malaria is caused by a protozoan who needs two hosts to complete its life cycle where one of its hosts is a vector or transmitting agent too. Its symptoms are exhibited within one week of its entry.

Complete answer:
Malaria is caused by a protozoan Plasmodium. Various grades of malaria can be observed due to different species of Plasmodium like P.vivax, P.malaria, and P.falciparum. Among them, Plasmodium falciparum is the most lethal one. In highly fatal cases, the red blood cells filled with the parasite Plasmodium falciparum can cause the blocking of blood vessels supplying blood to the central nervous system. It causes swelling of the brain which might lead to its permanent damage followed by seizures and coma. Such cases of malaria are known as cerebral malaria.

Additional Information:
The malarial parasite i.e. Plasmodium has two hosts - mosquito and humans. When an infected female Anopheles mosquito bites a healthy man, it transmits the protozoan in its infectious form or sporozoites. Plasmodium first occupies liver cells and multiplies to increase its population. It then attacks the red blood cells and ruptures it. A toxin ‘hemozoin’ is released with every rupture of every RBC. This toxin causes chill and fever in the human body. When another female Anopheles bites an infected individual, the parasite enters the insect’s body. Development of sporozoites and its storage occurs in the salivary glands of the mosquito so that when it bites another healthy individual, a new cycle repeats itself.

Note:
The following complications can be observed in severe malaria:
- Anemia: Destruction of RBCs causes a loss in red blood cells and thus anemia. This leads to a shortage of oxygen consumption by various organs and thus extreme tiredness and shortness of breath are experienced by the patient.
- Organ failure: Kidney failure is the result of lysed hemoglobin which may leak into the filtrate and clog the fine tubules.