Paper II
2019 February (2010 Scheme) · 40 marks · 120 min

Question

Define definitive host with an example.

Q102 marksShort Notes

Answer

The definitive (final) host is the host in which a parasite undergoes its sexual (adult/mature) stage of reproduction — in contrast to the intermediate host, in which only asexual development or larval stages occur.

Example: in the malaria life cycle, the female Anopheles mosquito is the definitive host, since the sexual cycle (gametocyte fusion, ookinete, oocyst formation) occurs within the mosquito gut; humans, in whom only the asexual (schizogonic) cycle occurs, serve as the intermediate host.

(Other valid examples: the domestic cat is the definitive host for Toxoplasma gondii, in whom the sexual enteroepithelial cycle occurs; the dog is the definitive host for Echinococcus granulosus, harbouring the adult tapeworm.)

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