Plasmodium falciparum
| Plasmodium falciparum | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Blood smear of Plasmodium falciparum (gametocytes - sexual forms) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| (unranked): | SAR |
| (unranked): | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | Apicomplexa |
| Class: | Aconoidasida |
| Order: | Haemosporida |
| Family: | Plasmodiidae |
| Genus: | Plasmodium |
| Species: | P. falciparum |
| Binomial name | |
|
Plasmodium falciparum (William H. Welch, 1897) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Oscillaria malariae Laveran, 1881 |
|
Oscillaria malariae Laveran, 1881
Plasmodium malariae Marchiafava and Celli, 1885
Laverania malariae Feletti and Grassi, 1890
Ematozoo falciforme Antolisei and Angelini, 1890
Haemamoeba immaculata Grassi, 1891
Haemamoeba laverani Labbe, 1894
Haematozoon falciforme Thayer and Hewetson, 1895
Haematozoon falciparum Welch, 1897
Haemosporidium sedecimanae Lewkowicz, 1897
Haemosporidium undecimanae Lewkowicz, 1897
Haemosporidium vigesimotertianae Lewkowicz, 1897
Plasmodium falciparum is a protozoan parasite, one of the species of Plasmodium that cause malaria in humans. It is transmitted by the female Anopheles mosquito. This species causes the disease's most dangerous form, malignant or falciparum malaria. It has the highest complication rates and mortality. Around the world, malaria is the most significant parasitic disease of humans and claims the lives of more children worldwide than any other infectious disease.
The 2015 World Health Organization report found 214 million cases of malaria worldwide. This resulted in an estimated 438,000 deaths. Rates of infection decreased from 2000 to 2015 by 37%, but increased from 2014's 198 million cases. In sub-Saharan Africa, over 75% of cases were due to P. falciparum, whereas in most other malarial countries, other, less virulent plasmodial species predominate. Almost every malarial death is caused by P. falciparum.
Of the six malarial parasites,P. falciparum causes the most-often fatal and medically severe form of disease. Roughly 50% of all malarial infections are caused by P. falciparum.
Malaria is caused by an infection with protozoa of the genus Plasmodium. The name malaria, from the Italian mala aria, meaning "bad air", comes from the linkage suggested by Giovanni Maria Lancisi (1717) of malaria with the poisonous vapours of swamps. This species' name comes from the Latin falx, meaning "sickle" and parere meaning "to give birth".
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Wikipedia