Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum is a unicellular protozoan parasite of humans, and the deadliest species of "Plasmodium" that cause malaria in humans. It is transmitted through the bite of a female "Anopheles" mosquito. It is responsible for roughly 50% of all malaria cases. It causes the disease's most dangerous form called falciparum malaria. It is therefore regarded as the deadliest parasite in humans, causing 435,000 deaths in 2017. It is also associated with the development of blood cancer (Burkitt's lymphoma) and is classified as Group 2A carcinogen.
Health in Singapore
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease, transmitted primarily by the species "Aedes aegypti." Transmission of the dengue virus occurs through the bite of the infected insect. Dengue fever varies in clinical presentation. Many cases of dengue virus infection are asymptomatic, but headaches, high fevers, pain behind the eyes, muscle, joint and bone pain, and a skin rash with red spots within 4 to 7 days of being infected may occur. In these cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) differentiates between undifferentiated febrile illness caused by dengue, dengue fever (DF), or dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) including dengue shock syndrome (DSS). DHF, characterized by increased vascular permeability and blood plasma leakage, may result in death, especially in the case of DSS, where shock results from decreased intravascular pressure caused by this leakage of plasma.