Question

Malaria is caused by ___________ and spreads by ____________.

• A. protozoa
• B. mosquito bite

Answer 1

Malaria:

1. Malaria is a vector-borne protozoan disease.
2. As malaria can spread from one person to another, it is a communicable disease.
3. Female Anopheles mosquitoes are the malarial vector.
4. They carry the causative agent of malaria (Plasmodium) within their salivary glands and transmit it from the malaria infected person to an uninfected person.
5. The mosquito which carries the malarial protozoa spreads the disease by biting.

Vector:

1. Vector is a carrier within which the causative agent of a disease is present and the vector carries that agent from an infected person to an uninfected person.
2. Vector-borne disease means a disease which occurs due to an infection transmitted by vectors such as mosquitoes, fleas etc.

Protozoan:

1. Protozoa is a group which comprises of microscopic, single-celled organisms.
2. Plasmodium is a protozoa.

Final answer : Malaria is caused by protozoa and spreads by mosquito bite.