Plasmodium vivax
- noun
- /plæzˈmoʊdiəm vaɪˈvæks/
- Specialized
:
Plasmodium vivax
- In Latin America, where malaria transmission is low and mostly unstable, Plasmodium vivax is the most prevalent malaria parasite species.
Examples
-
Plasmodium vivax is a major cause of illness in areas with low transmission of malaria in Latin America, Asia, and the Horn of Africa.
Academic text (2013) -
The parasitic protozoan Plasmodium vivax causes recurring fevers in humans infected with this malaria parasite.
-
Plasmodium vivax can lie dormant in the liver, leading to sporadic fevers after initial infection.
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In regions where malaria is endemic, Plasmodium vivax is a significant contributor to malaria-related illnesses.
Synonyms
1
4.1
A very small single cell that lives in human blood, spreads by mosquito bites and causes malaria
1
8.4
A parasite made of one cell that causes the most severe kind of malaria in humans
A parasite that causes malaria in humans and spreads through mosquito bites
Surface Forms
Morphology
Plasmodium + vivax
The binomial form makes clear that this is a species of the genus Plasmodium, so a learner who knows 'Plasmodium' can infer it refers to a malaria parasite. However, the species epithet 'vivax' is a Latin label not meaningful to a B1 learner and the specific clinical information (recurring fevers) cannot be derived from the constituents, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Plasmodium vivax comes from old Greek and Latin words: plasmodium meant a formed mass and vivax meant 'lively' or 'long-lasting'. One reason for the name is that this parasite can hide in the liver and come back years later, so it seems to 'live on' and cause the repeating fevers it is known for.