| Plasmodium falciparum | |
|---|---|
| |
| Macrogametocyte (left) and microgametocyte (right) of P. falciparum | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Clade: | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | SAR |
| Clade: | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | Apicomplexa |
| Class: | Aconoidasida |
| Order: | Haemospororida |
| Family: | Plasmodiidae |
| Genus: | Plasmodium |
| Species: | P. falciparum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Plasmodium falciparum (Welch, 1897)
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Plasmodium falciparum is a unicellular protozoan parasite of humans, and the deadliest species of Plasmodium that causes malaria in humans.[2] The parasite is transmitted through the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito and causes the disease's most dangerous form, falciparum malaria. P. falciparum is therefore regarded as the deadliest parasite in humans. It is also associated with the development of blood cancer (Burkitt's lymphoma) and is classified as a Group 2A (probable) carcinogen.
The species originated from the malarial parasite Laverania found in gorillas, around 10,000 years ago.[3][4] Alphonse Laveran was the first to identify the parasite in 1880, and named it Oscillaria malariae. Ronald Ross discovered its transmission by mosquito in 1897. Giovanni Battista Grassi elucidated the complete transmission from a female anopheline mosquito to humans in 1898. In 1897, William H. Welch created the name Plasmodium falciparum, which ICZN formally adopted in 1954. P. falciparum assumes several different forms during its life cycle. The human-infective stage are sporozoites from the salivary gland of a mosquito. The sporozoites grow and multiply in the liver to become merozoites. These merozoites invade the erythrocytes (red blood cells) to form trophozoites, schizonts and gametocytes, during which the symptoms of malaria are produced. In the mosquito, the gametocytes undergo sexual reproduction to a zygote, which turns into ookinete. Ookinete forms oocytes from which sporozoites are formed.
In 2022, some 249 million cases of malaria worldwide resulted in an estimated 608,000 deaths, with 80 percent being 5 years old or less.[5] Nearly all malarial deaths are caused by P. falciparum, and 95% of such cases occur in Africa. In Sub-Saharan Africa, almost 100% of cases were due to P. falciparum, whereas in most other regions where malaria is endemic, other, less virulent plasmodial species predominate.[6]
- ^ Coatney GR, Collins WE, Warren M, Contacos PG (1971). "22 Plasmodium falciparum (Welch, 1897)". The primate malarias. Division of Parasitic Disease, CDC. p. 263.
- ^ Rich, S. M.; Leendertz, F. H.; Xu, G.; Lebreton, M.; Djoko, C. F.; Aminake, M. N.; Takang, E. E.; Diffo, J. L. D.; Pike, B. L.; Rosenthal, B. M.; Formenty, P.; Boesch, C.; Ayala, F. J.; Wolfe, N. D. (2009). "The origin of malignant malaria". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (35): 14902–14907. Bibcode:2009PNAS..10614902R. doi:10.1073/pnas.0907740106. PMC 2720412. PMID 19666593.
- ^ Loy, Dorothy E.; Liu, Weimin; Li, Yingying; Learn, Gerald H.; Plenderleith, Lindsey J.; Sundararaman, Sesh A.; Sharp, Paul M.; Hahn, Beatrice H. (2017). "Out of Africa: origins and evolution of the human malaria parasites Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax". International Journal for Parasitology. 47 (2–3): 87–97. doi:10.1016/j.ijpara.2016.05.008. PMC 5205579. PMID 27381764.
- ^ Sharp, Paul M.; Plenderleith, Lindsey J.; Hahn, Beatrice H. (2020). "Ape origins of human malaria". Annual Review of Microbiology. 74: 39–63. doi:10.1146/annurev-micro-020518-115628. PMC 7643433. PMID 32905751.
- ^ "World malaria report 2022". www.who.int. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ WHO (2021). World Malaria Report 2021. Switzerland: World Health Organization. ISBN 978-92-4-004049-6.