A merozoite (G. meros, part [of a series], +zoon, animal) is a daughter cell of a protozoan parasite. Merozoites are the result of asexual reproduction (schizogony, merogony). In coccidiosis, merozoites form the first phase of the internal life cycle of coccidian.
In malaria, these spores infect red blood cells and then rapidly reproduce asexually. These merozoites then can break and destroy the red blood cell hosts and infect others. Antimalarial drugs can reduce these infections but there is as yet no complete cure for malaria. How the merozoite parasite invades a red blood cell is as yet unknown to science and research continues into this.
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