The infective stage of malaria is:

The correct answer is Option (2) → Sporozoites

The malaria parasite Plasmodium needs two hosts, a human and the female Anopheles mosquito. It enters the human body as sporozoites, the infective form, when the infected mosquito bites. The sporozoites first multiply in the liver cells and then attack the red blood cells.

(1) Gametocytes — Incorrect. These are the sexual forms of the parasite that form in the red blood cells. The mosquito picks them up when it bites an infected person. They infect the mosquito, not the human.

(2) Sporozoites — Correct. These are the forms that the mosquito passes into the human body through its bite.

(3) Haemozoin — Incorrect. It is a toxic substance released when red blood cells burst. It causes the chill and the high fever that come back every three to four days. It is not a stage of the parasite.

(4) Liver cells — Incorrect. These are the cells of the human host in which the parasite first multiplies. They are not a stage of the parasite.

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NCERT Extract:
Common Diseases in Humans – …