rnan usually suffers from the ma fa rial paroxysm accompan ied by chills, fever, profuse 51,\leating heodoche 11nd prostration. l11e mero'I. Oite s will enter new red blood cells to repeat the schizogonic cycle. Some merozoites will, however, develop into ga. metocytes that are taken up by the female Anopheles during feeding time. ln the mosquito gut, the gametocytes become sexually mature gametes. The male gamete fertilizes the female gamete to procluce a fertilized cell called a zygote. The zygote develops into an ookinette then into an oocyst. Inside the oocysts are sporozoites which are released into lhc salivary glands of the mosquito and are eventua1ly introduced to a new host when Lhe mos4uito vector tak. es another blood meal (See Illus. 15. 12). Sporo7. ites introduced by the mosquito bite undergo exo-erythrocytic schizogony in the liver cells. The mero7,oites released from the liver cells will eventually invade the red blood cells. The interval betv,1een malarial attacks is determined by the length of asexual phase: 36-40 hours for Plasmodium falciparum, 48 hours for Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale, 72 hours for Plasmodium malariae. Thick and thin blood films a-re prepared from a finger prick on the patient. The blood films are stained with Giemsa and are read under the oil immersion lens. The thick blood smear is useful for rapid diagnosis while the thin blood film is used for species identification. ln Plasmodium falciparum infection, what can be seen from the blood films are mainly rings and gametocytes because the late tropho1. oites and schizonts are sequestered in the deep vasculature of some internal organs. While for the other three species, all ase,--.,:ml stages can be recovered from the peripheral blood. If the blood films are negative, serologica l tes. ts like IFA(lndirect fluorescent anb"body) and ELISA (Enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay) are available to detect anb°bodies. Recent advances in the diagnosis of malaria include antigen detection from the blood using monoclonal antibodies against enzymes produced by the parasites like histidine­ rich protein [HRP) and lactic dcbydrogenase (LDH). Treatment is available for both uncomplicated and complicated forms of malaria. Chernopro phylaxis is also sugg~ted to protect man from malaria infection. For the control of the mosquito vectors, ex-perts recommend the integrated vector control strategies,vhich include stream modification and/or other environmenta l manipuh1tion, biologica l control, and chemical control. To prevent man-vector contact, use of chemically treated bednets and proper screening of houses are advocated. Long lasting insecticide treatment nets (LLl TN) are nowavanable. Families are advised to use adequate protective clothing during outdoor activities at night when the biting period of the mosquito vector is expected. until early morning (de las Llagas, 1999: 23) Commun ity-based family empowerment interventions for malaria prevenb°on and control have been documented in 1999 by Maglaya, de las l..\gas, Ancheta and Belizario (See Chapter 18). Babesia spp TI1is parasite belongs to a group ofproto:i;oans called piroplasms. Human infection with Babesia mic.-oti has been identified main Jy in the United States and to a lesser extent in Europe. In the United States problem on Babesia is compound by the fact that the spirochaete called Borrelia burgdvrferi causing Lyme diseases is transmitted by the same tick Jxodes spp which transmits Babes. ia. Just like the Plasmodia spp, this parasite is intra-erthrocytic in habitat. [tis, therefore, transmjssible through blood 379 