Putting science
at the heart of development
Definitions
- Antibiotic resistance
- Bird flu
- Climate change & insect-borne disease
- Genomics
- Malaria
- Nanotechnology for health
- Tuberculosis
Below is a directory of terms used to talk about malaria. Most definitions have been taken from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
S
Schizogony
Asexual reproductive stage of malaria parasites. In red blood cells, schizogony entails development of a single trophozoite into numerous merozoites. A similar process happens in infected liver cells.
Schizont
A developmental form of the malaria parasite that contains many merozoites. Schizonts are seen in the liver-stage and blood-stage parasites.
Sequelae
Morbid conditions following as a consequence of a disease.
Serology
The branch of science dealing with the measurement and characterization of antibodies and other immunological substances in body fluids, particularly serum.
Species
Organisms in the same genus that have similar characteristics.
Splenomegaly
Enlargement of the spleen. Found in some malaria patients. Splenomegaly can be used to measure malaria endemicity during surveys (e.g., in communities or in schoolchildren).
Sporozoite
A stage in the life cycle of the malaria parasite. Sporozoites are produced in the mosquito and migrate to the mosquito's salivary glands. They can be inoculated into a human host when the mosquito takes a blood meal on the human. In the human, the sporozoites enter liver cells where they develop into the next stage of the malaria parasite life cycle (the liver stage or exo-erythrocytic stage).
Sporozoite rate
The proportion of female anopheline mosquitoes of a particular species that have sporozoites in their salivary glands (as seen by dissection), or that are positive in immunologic tests to detect sporozoite antigens.
Strain
A genetic variant within a species.
Suppressive treatment
Treatment intended to prevent clinical symptoms and parasitemia through destruction of parasites in red blood cells. It does not prevent infection because the parasite stages inoculated by the mosquito (sporozoites) will survive and invade the liver with the development of liver-stage parasites. It is when the parasites leave the liver cells to invade the blood that they are eliminated. Because the blood- stage parasites are the ones that cause disease, eliminating these stages will prevent symptoms.
.jpg){kind=spacer}
