This is an alternate content page containing a Hot Spot Explore Activity. It has opened in a new window.
The activity has an image with defined hotspot areas. The hotspot areas in the image are labeled as:

Mosquito Stages - Once the gametocytes are ingested by a female mosquito, they are able to form male and female gametes in the mosquito gut. The gametes then develop into oocysts, which undergo mitotic division, creating sporozoites. Sporozoites then migrate to the salivary glands of the mosquito, ready to be injected into the human with the next mosquito’s blood meal, thus initiating the cycle over again.
Infected Mosquito Bite - The plasmodium sporozoites enter into the human bloodstream after a bite from an infected female anopheles mosquito. The infected mosquito injects saliva along with the sporozoites that remain in the salivary glands to stop blood from clotting as they feed.
Human Liver Stage - Once the sporozoites enter the bloodstream, they quickly make their way to the liver and invade the liver tissue. Inside the infected liver cells, the sporozoites proliferate and develop into merozoites. Once the cell is filled with merozoites, it is known as a schizont. The merozoites target red blood cells, and once the schizont ruptures they enter the bloodstream.
Human Blood Stage - In the bloodstream, merozoites begin to infect red blood cells and develop into trophozoites, adopting a ring-like structure. They evade the host’s innate immune defenses by entering the red blood cells, which hides them from detection and destruction. The mature trophozoites then recirculate back to the liver, where they create new schizonts. Again, the schizont ruptures and merozoites disseminate into the bloodstream. At this point, clinical symptoms, such as fever and chills, begin to occur in the human host as more and more red blood cells are destroyed. In severe cases, the depletion of red blood cells can lead to seizures, coma, or even death. The process from mosquito bite to destruction of the red blood cells takes approximately 7-10 days.
Mosquito Takes a Blood Meal - Some merozoites in the bloodstream develop into gametocytes. Gametocytes are unable to produce gametes inside the human host and must be ingested by a mosquito to develop.