Paper II
2022 October (Supplementary) (2010 Scheme) · 40 marks · 120 min

Question

Define intermediate host with an example.

Q112 marksShort Notes

Answer

The intermediate host is the host in which a parasite undergoes only asexual development or larval/immature stages — the sexual/mature stage occurs elsewhere, in the definitive host.

Example: humans serve as the intermediate host for Plasmodium species (malaria), since only the asexual (schizogonic) cycle occurs in humans, while the sexual cycle occurs within the Anopheles mosquito (definitive host).

(Other valid examples: sheep/cattle — intermediate host for Echinococcus granulosus; pig — intermediate host for Taenia solium cysticercus.)

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