Malaria: some considerations regarding parasite productivity

The complicated life cycle of Plasmodium is characterized by proliferative stages in each of its hosts - mosquito and vertebrate - that are interrupted by restrictive steps as it moves from one to the other. Productivity at each stage affects not only pathology but also the probability for successful transmission. This Opinion article briefly assesses what is known about productivity at each step and attempts, with limited success, to put each in the context of an entire cycle, sporozoite to sporozoite.