3.1.5: Protist diseases
Not started yet — this one needs some love.
Malaria: caused by a protist (Plasmodium).
Spread by the mosquito acting as a vector (the mosquito transmits the protist when it bites).
Symptoms: recurrent episodes of fever; can be fatal.
Control:
Prevent mosquitoes from breeding (remove standing water).
Use mosquito nets to avoid being bitten.
Antimalarial drugs (not specified in spec but relevant context).
Common exam mistakes
Malaria is caused by a protist (Plasmodium) — NOT a bacterium or virus.
The mosquito is the vector (organism that carries and transmits the pathogen) — the mosquito itself is not the pathogen.
Malaria is NOT spread directly from person to person — only via mosquito bites.
'Vector' = organism that transmits a pathogen to another organism — mosquito is a vector, not a pathogen.