B3 - Malaria

What type of disease is malaria?

A communicable disease caused by a pathogen.

How many deaths does malaria cause approximately each year?

Over 400,000 deaths.

What type of pathogen causes malaria?

A protist.

What is a key symptom of malaria?

Repeated bouts of fever.

Can malaria be fatal?

Yes, malaria can be fatal.

How is malaria spread from one person to another?

Via mosquito bites.

Can malaria pass directly from person to person?

No, it requires a mosquito vector.

What is a vector?

An organism that carries a pathogen from one person to another, such as a mosquito.

Describe the malaria pathogen's life cycle in humans and mosquitoes.

An infected mosquito bites a person and passes the malaria pathogen into their blood; another mosquito bites that infected person and picks up the pathogen to pass to another person.

How can the spread of malaria be reduced by controlling mosquitoes?

By stopping mosquitoes from breeding in still water through draining or insecticide spraying.

Where do mosquitoes breed?

In still water, such as ponds.

Why is it difficult to kill all mosquitoes?

Because mosquitoes breed in many places and insecticides cannot reach all of them.

How can we prevent mosquitoes from biting humans?

By sleeping under mosquito nets.

How do mosquito nets reduce the spread of malaria?

They physically stop mosquitoes from biting people sleeping under them.

What extra measure can make mosquito nets more effective?

Spraying them with insecticide to kill mosquitoes on contact.

Why is spraying mosquito nets with insecticide helpful?

It kills mosquitoes that land on the net, reducing bites and spread of malaria.

What are the two main strategies to reduce the spread of malaria?

Prevent mosquitoes from breeding and prevent mosquitoes from biting humans.

Why is malaria classified as a communicable disease?

Because it is spread by a pathogen from person to person via a vector.

What role does the mosquito play in malaria transmission?

It acts as a vector transmitting the malaria protist between humans.

What type of organism is a protist?

A diverse group of single-celled organisms, some of which cause disease.

Why is malaria a serious global health problem?

Because it causes many deaths and severe illness, especially in some parts of the world.