What is schizont?
a. One of the stages of malaria parasite in the liver of human hosts/patients only
b. One of the stages of malaria parasite in both the liver and blood of human hosts/patients
c. One of the stages of malaria parasite in the guts of insect vectors
The correct answer and explanation is:
Correct Answer:
b. One of the stages of malaria parasite in both the liver and blood of human hosts/patients
Explanation:
A schizont is a developmental stage in the life cycle of the Plasmodium parasite, which causes malaria in humans. This stage occurs during asexual reproduction inside the human host and is found in both the liver and the blood.
When a mosquito carrying Plasmodium bites a human, it injects sporozoites into the bloodstream. These sporozoites travel to the liver, where they infect liver cells (hepatocytes). Inside the liver cells, the parasite undergoes asexual replication and develops into a liver-stage schizont. The liver schizont matures and eventually bursts, releasing thousands of merozoites into the bloodstream.
These merozoites then infect red blood cells and continue the cycle. Inside the red blood cells, the parasite again multiplies asexually through a process known as schizogony. This produces blood-stage schizonts. When these schizonts mature, the red blood cells burst, releasing more merozoites, which go on to infect more red blood cells. This repeated cycle causes the symptoms of malaria such as fever and chills.
The schizont stage is therefore found in two main locations in the human host: first in the liver and later in the blood. It plays a critical role in the multiplication of the parasite and the spread of infection within the host. Since this stage is not part of the mosquito’s digestive or reproductive process, the schizont is not found in the gut of insect vectors. In mosquitoes, the parasite follows a different developmental pathway, including stages like gametocytes, ookinetes, oocysts, and sporozoites.
Understanding the schizont stage is important in malaria diagnosis and treatment because this is when the parasite multiplies rapidly and becomes clinically evident.