What happens to Plasmodium parasites after an infected Anopheles mosquito bites a person?

When an infected female Anopheles mosquito bites a person, it injects immature Plasmodium parasites, known as sporozoites, into the human bloodstream.12

The following process occurs:

• Liver Stage: The sporozoites travel to the liver, where they mature into schizonts. Over one to two weeks, each schizont multiplies into thousands of merozoites. In some species, such as P. vivax and P. ovale, parasites may remain dormant in the liver as hypnozoites for months or years.2
• Bloodstream Infection: The merozoites are released from the liver into the bloodstream, where they invade and multiply within red blood cells.12
• Cell Destruction: As the merozoites divide, they destroy the red blood cells, releasing toxins that cause the characteristic periodic chills and fever associated with malaria.12
• Transmission Cycle: Some merozoites develop into gametocytes. If another mosquito bites the infected person, it ingests these gametocytes, allowing the parasite's life cycle to continue within the insect.12