Unit 10-D

Insect-borne
diseases
 Insects which transmit
diseases
• House fly- transmits disease organisms
w/c actively enter the body in food.
• Other insects- directly transfer disease
org. by biting or piercing the skin.
• In some- disease organism complete the
life cycle of the insect vector.
i.e :mosquitoes w/c transmit malaria or
yellow fever
 1. Malaria
• A protozoan
disease of the
cardiovascular and
lymphatic system.
• Causative agent:
• PLASMODIUM-
 4 species of Plasmodium
a. Plasmodium
Vivax
-causes tertian
malaria
-attacks of fever
occur every 48
hours
-life cycle: 30 days
b. Plasmodium ovale
-also causes tertian
malaria
c. Plasmodium
malariae
-causes quartan
malaria
-attacks every 72
hours
-milder disease
compared to
others
d. Plasmodium
falciparum
-causes malignant
tertian malaria
-action: suppresses
ability of dendritic
cells to initiate
immune response
-infects and destroys
more RBC that causes
anemia and weakening
to the victim.
-RBC sticks to capillary
walls, clogging
capillary vessels
Effect: infected RBC do
not reach the spleen
where phagocytic cells
are.
Result: death of tissues
due to loss of blood
supply,kidney and liver
damage, usual cause
of cerebral malaria.
VECTOR of MALARIA
Anopheles Mosquito
 Characteristics:
a.Malaria: causes an annual death rate
of 2 million people all over the
world.
b.Plasmodium- found in the stomach
of anopheles mosquito and it is
where the malarial parasite
undergoes several developmental
stages
c. With 2 hosts: mosquito and man
d. Infection could occur if a man was
infected, bitten by and infected
Anopheles Mosquito.
 Symptoms:
-Anemia caused by
damage to the RBC
and release of
toxins from the
parasite.
• Fever maybe continuous at first but
soon occurs at every 48 to 72
hours.
• Headaches and pains which
alternate between cold shivering
spells and sweating
• Severe effects of P. Falciparum: may
cause the parasite to enter the
brain, w/c can cause severe
septicimia-blood poisoning.
 Infection and life cycle
• Sporozoites- tiny-spore like
organisms w/c live at the salivary
glands of an infected anopheles
mosquito.
-they are also the infective stage of
plasmodium w/c are introduced w/
the insect’s saliva into the human
blood stream
-sporozoites from the bloodstream
invade the human liver and in 2
weeks later invade the human RBC.
-sporozoites penetrate the liver cell
and initiate schizogony producing
merozoites w/c enter other liver
cells and repeat the schizogonous
cycle.
-Merozoites released as a result of
liver schizogony-division of cells.
-merozoites upon entering the RBC
become amoeboid trophozoites which
feed on hemoglobin, producing an end
product of digestion called hemozoin, a
dark insoluble pigment which
accumulates in the host cell.
-RBC containing merozoites bursts or
ruptures and liberates into the
bloodstream young spores; waste
products are released when the next
generation of merozoites are released
which eventually accumulate in the liver
and spleen.
 Effects of rupture and
release of merozoites
-chills, high fever and sweating.
-production of billion parasite in the
body in about 2 weeks after the
infectious mosquito bite.

Gametes-merozoites that is formed in

the RBC larger than before.
 Diagnosis:
• Microscopic examination of blood
smear or serological tests.
 Treatment
• Quinine- 1st used that kills the parasite in
the blood stream but less effective than
later discoveries.
• Chloroquinine and mepacrine-same effect
with quinine.
• Plasmoquine-kills the gametes but does
not stop the asexual cycle.
• Paludrine-kills both gametes and asexual
forms in the blood and liver (daily)
• Deraprim-like paludrine but weekly.
 Prevention & Control
a. Elimination of the insect vector
-use of insecticides,oil,fishes that
feed on the aquatic stages.
b. Preventing the mosquitoes from
biting
c. clothing, repellants
d.drugs
e.blood samples
 2. Filariasis(elephantiasis)
Causative agent:
Wuchereria
bancrofti-
a. Filaria worm-
carried by
mosquitoes
b. Adult worm-lives
in the lymph
glands(humans)

Vector-Anopheles
Mosquito
 Characteristics
a. Huge swelling of legs or genital
organs caused by blocking of lymph
vessels
 Infection and life cycle
• Adult female worms lay tiny larvae
known as Microfilariae w/c enter the
bloodstream where they will remain
there for several months before
enetering lymph glands and vessels.
Result-lymph vessels become blocked
resulting to enlargement of
connective tissues.
 Cure & solution
• Prophylaxis is important.
• Mosquito control and prevention of
bites.
 3. Yellow Fever
-viral hemorrhagic
fever
-viral disease of the
cardiovascular and
lymphatic
systems.
Causative agent:
Arbovirus(yellow
fever virus)
 Vector

-Aedes Aegypti
mosquito
 Characteristics
a. Virus transmitted by Aedes Aegypti
when injected into the human skin
b. Symptoms: fever develops 5 days
after being bitten by the mosquito
with the virus followed by nausea
and vomitting.
-patient has black
vomit and diarrhea
-jaundice is
present
Bec of liver damage
caused by release
of bile pigments
into the
bloodstream.
Mortality rate: 20%
 Diagnosis,control &
prevention
-clinical signs confirmed by rise in
antibody or isolation of virus in
bloodstream.
-mosquito control,of apes and
monkeys.
-immunization from vaccines.
 4. Dengue
-viral disease of the
cardiovascular and
lymphatic system

Causative agent:
arbovirus
Vector: aedes aegypti &
culex
 Characteristics
a. Spread through bite of an infected
female aedes aegypti
b. Called break bone fever due to
painful symptoms
c. Rash,fever and severe muscle and
joint pains
d. Recovery occurs after about 5 days
e. Dengue hemorrhagic fever- 2nd
form of dengue
-induces shock in children and kill in
a few hours
-leading cause of death in south
asian children.
 prevention
a. No cure and no vaccine
b. Elimination of mosquito breeding
places
c. Chemical control
d. Prevent mosquito bites
 -END-

Clemente, Christian
F.