Q 01/05

Which sex of Anopheles mosquito transmits malaria?

A) Both sexes equally

B) Only the males

C) Only the females

D) Neither; the larvae do

Answer · why

C) Only the females

Females need blood meals, and the bite injects parasites from the mosquito's saliva.

Q 02/05

The word malaria comes from medieval Italian words meaning what?

A) Swamp fever

B) Bad air

C) Hot blood

D) Black water

Answer · why

B) Bad air

It was also called ague, paludism and marsh fever, and appeared in English at least as early as 1768.

Q 03/05

How many Plasmodium species cause malaria in humans?

A) Twelve

B) Twenty

C) Two

D) Six

Answer · why

D) Six

P. ovale is now split into two species, curtisi and wallikeri.

Q 04/05

P. falciparum accounts for roughly what share of identified human malaria infections?

A) About 50%

B) About 95%

C) About 20%

D) About 75%

Answer · why

D) About 75%

The next most common species accounts for most of the rest and dominates outside Africa.

Q 05/05

Which Plasmodium species is a macaque malaria that infects thousands of people a year?

A) P. malariae

B) P. knowlesi

C) P. ovale

D) P. vivax

Answer · why

B) P. knowlesi

It is the only ape or monkey malaria of real public-health importance in humans.