1. Malaria in the Immune System By: Lindsay

2. What is it? • Malaria is a disease that is transferred usually by mosquito • The mosquito passes on parasites that it contains in it’s own system. The parasites are passed into the blood stream.

3. Symptoms

4. Protection • Immune protection against malaria requires continued exposure • People who get effected by malaria in a “risk zone” and then leave, are more apt to get it when they return to a risk zone • Immune system needs the parasites to be in the body for an amount of time so that they can produce antibodies and combating cells to fight of the disease • Risk Zones include: Africa, Central American, Mexico, South America and Southern Asia

5. Effects on the Immune System • Immune system defenses include: antibodies, lymphocytes, monocytes, macrophages, natural kill (NK) cells and neutrophils

6. Antibodies • neutralize the parasites • Stunt parasite development • prevent them from entering target cells • help macrophages to engulf the parasites and infected cells.

7. NK Cells and Neutrophils • First line of defense against malaria • Macrophages attack the malaria infected cells, along with infected RBC, and engulf them • Macrophages eventually clear parasites from blood stream

8. Cellular Immunity • Considered very helpful in the prevention of malaria • Cytokines are also helpful to prevent malaria • This chemical is secreted by lymphocytes • They enhance the process of cellular immunity

11. Malaria in the Liver • causes the liver to become enlarged • Becomes firm and tender • Parasites travel to the liver first • This is where they change to a new form that can effect red blood cells and cause them to burst (decreases RBC count :/) • Parasite cells accumulate calcium ions that disguise the infected cell so the immune system doesn’t “see” the infection right off

13. Red Blood cell bursting after Malaria infection

14. Problems • Malaria parasites presents a different group of targets (antigens) to the immune system • Malaria parasites mutate rapidly generating different variant • This ability to generate different forms and a diversity within targets of the host's immune system help the parasites to bypass malarial immunity. • Parasite diversity makes it difficult to create a vaccine for malaria because the parasites changes so one vaccine might not effect diverse malarial parasites

15. Extra Facts • Malaria kills more than 3,000 children under the age of five per year • More than 1.5 million/year • Infection rate of approx. 400 to 500 million/year