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TEST 9 – Malaria Complete each sentence with the correct ending A-H. 1. Anopheline mosquitoes
2. Parasites located in victims’ livers
3. Unfinished courses of anti-malarial drugs
4. Control programs to protect people from
malaria
A have finally been eradicated.
B are not always affected by insecticides.
C are the results of incompetent doctors.
D are always female.
E have been taken for hundreds of years.
F should be based on seven clear goals.
G have resulted in parasitic resistance to treatment.
H are later found again in the bloodstream.
A. Approximately 300 million people worldwide are affected by malaria and between 1 and 1.5 million
people die from it every year. Previously extremely widespread, malaria is now mainly confined to Africa,
Asia and Latin America. The problem of controlling malaria in these countries is aggravated by inadequate
health structures and poor socio-economic conditions. The situation has become even more complex over
the last few years with the increase in resistance to the drugs normally used to combat the parasite that
causes the disease.
B. Malaria is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium. Four species of Plasmodium can
produce the disease in its various forms: plasmodium falciparum, plasmodium vivax, plasmodium ovale and
plasmodium malaria. Plasmodium falciparum is the most widespread anddangerous of the four: untreated it
can lead to fatal cerebral malaria. Malaria parasites are transmitted from one person to another by the female
anopheline mosquito. The males do not transmit the disease as they feed only on plant juices. There are
about 380 species of anopheline mosquito, but only 60 or so are able to transmit the parasite. Their
sensitivity to insecticides is also highly variable.
C. Plasmodium develops in the gut of the mosquito and is passed on in the saliva of an infected insect each
time it takes a new blood meal. The parasites are then carried by the blood into the victim’s liver where they
invade the cells and multiply. After nine to sixteen days they return to the blood and penetrate the red cells
where they multiply again, progressively breaking down the red cells. This induces bouts of fever and
anaemia in the infected individual. In the case of cerebral malaria the infected red cells obstruct the blood
vessels in the brain. Other vital organs can also be damaged often leading to the death of the patient.
D. Malaria is diagnosed by the clinical symptoms and microscopic examination of the blood. It can normally
be cured by anti-malarial drugs. The symptoms - fever, shivering, pain in the joints and headache - quickly
disappear once the parasite is killed. In certain regions, however, the parasites have developed resistance to
certain anti-malarial drugs, particularly chloroquine. Patients in these areas require treatment with other
more expensive drugs. In endemic regions where transmission rates are high, people are continually infected
so that they gradually develop immunity to the disease. Until they have acquired such immunity, children
remain highly vulnerable. Pregnant women are also highly susceptible since the natural defence mechanisms
are reduced during pregnancy.
E. Malaria has been known since time immemorial but it was centuries before the true causes were
understood. Surprisingly in view of this some ancient treatments were remarkably effective. An infusion of
qinghao containing artemisinin has been used for at least the last 2000 years in China and the antifebrile
properties of the bitter bark of Cinchona Ledgeriana were known in Peru before the 15th century. Quinine,
the active ingredient of this potion, was first isolated in 1820 by the pharmacists. Although people were
unaware of the origin of malaria and the mode of transmission, protective measures against the mosquito