What Protist Diseases Exist? Malaria Explained

Malaria is the protist disease named in AQA GCSE Biology. It is caused by a protist, a type of microorganism. For this question, malaria is the example to learn; you do not need to memorise a list of other protist diseases. This answer assumes the AQA GCSE Biology separate-science course and applies to both Foundation and Higher tier.

How does malaria spread?

The malarial protist has a life cycle that includes a mosquito. A mosquito can carry the pathogen and pass it to a person when it bites them. An organism that carries a pathogen between hosts is called a vector. In this case, the mosquito is the vector, while the protist is the pathogen. A pathogen is an organism or agent that causes infectious disease.

Malaria causes recurrent episodes of fever, meaning the fever returns, and it can be fatal. Its spread can be reduced in two ways: using mosquito nets to avoid bites and preventing mosquitoes from breeding. These measures target the vector, reducing opportunities for the protist to pass between people.

What is the key exam distinction?

Keep the roles separate: the protist causes malaria; the mosquito spreads it. For example, if you are asked how mosquito nets help prevent malaria, explain that a net reduces mosquito bites. That reduces the chance of the malarial protist being passed to a person. Simply saying that nets “stop malaria” misses the link between the bite and transmission of the pathogen.

You can organise an answer as a short chain: name the disease, identify the pathogen type, explain the vector’s role, then link a prevention method to reduced spread. For malaria, that means naming the protist, the mosquito and either mosquito nets or measures that prevent breeding. The most likely mistake is writing that mosquitoes cause malaria, or calling malaria a bacterial or viral disease. Mosquitoes carry the pathogen; they are not the pathogen themselves.