The primate malarias

Front Matter -- 1. Evolution of the Primate Malarias -- 2. Historical Review -- 3. Ecology of the Hosts in Relation to the Transmission of Malaria -- 4. Life Cycle and the Phenomenon of Relapse -- 5. Plasmodium vivax -- 6. Plasmodium cynomolgi -- 7. Plasmodium eylesi -- 8. Plasmodium gonderi -- 9. Plasmodium hylobati -- 10. Plasmodium jefferyi -- 11. Plasmodium pitheci -- 12. Plasmodium schwetzi -- 13. Plasmodium simium -- 14. Plasmodium youngi -- 15. Plasmodium ovale -- 16. Plasmodium fieldi -- 17. Plasmodium simiovale -- 18. Plasmodium malariae -- 19. Plasmodium brasilianum -- 20. Plasmodium inui -- 21. Plasmodium rodhaini -- 22. Plasmodium falciparum -- 23. Plasmodium coatneyi -- 24. Plasmodium fragile -- 25. Plasmodium reichenowi -- 26. Plasmodium knowlesi -- 27. Plasmodium girardi -- 28. Plasmodium lemuris -- Author Index -- Subject IndexG. Robert Coatney, William E. Collins, McWilson Warren, Peter G. Contacos.The electronic version was produced in 2003 by James J. Sullivan, Gregory Noland, and Leanne Ward, Biology and Diagnostics Branch of the Division of Parasitic Diseases [CDC].Includes bibliographies

Chimpanzee Malaria Parasites Related to Plasmodium ovale in Africa

Since the 1970's, the diversity of Plasmodium parasites in African great apes has been neglected. Surprisingly, P. reichenowi, a chimpanzee parasite, is the only such parasite to have been molecularly characterized. This parasite is closely phylogenetically related to P. falciparum, the principal cause of the greatest malaria burden in humans. Studies of malaria parasites from anthropoid primates may provide relevant phylogenetic information, improving our understanding of the origin and evolutionary history of human malaria species. In this study, we screened 130 DNA samples from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) from Cameroon for Plasmodium infection, using cytochrome b molecular tools. Two chimpanzees from the subspecies Pan t. troglodytes presented single infections with Plasmodium strains molecularly related to the human malaria parasite P. ovale. These chimpanzee parasites and 13 human strains of P. ovale originated from a various sites in Africa and Asia were characterized using cytochrome b and cytochrome c oxidase 1 mitochondrial partial genes and nuclear ldh partial gene. Consistent with previous findings, two genetically distinct types of P. ovale, classical and variant, were observed in the human population from a variety of geographical locations. One chimpanzee Plasmodium strain was genetically identical, on all three markers tested, to variant P. ovale type. The other chimpanzee Plasmodium strain was different from P. ovale strains isolated from humans. This study provides the first evidence of possibility of natural cross-species exchange of P. ovale between humans and chimpanzees of the subspecies Pan t. troglodytes

The biology of sexual development of Plasmodium: the design and implementation of transmission-blocking strategies

A meeting to discuss the latest developments in the biology of sexual development of Plasmodium and transmission-control was held April 5-6, 2011, in Bethesda, MD. The meeting was sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH/NIAID) in response to the challenge issued at the Malaria Forum in October 2007 that the malaria community should re-engage with the objective of global eradication. The consequent rebalancing of research priorities has brought to the forefront of the research agenda the essential need to reduce parasite transmission. A key component of any transmission reduction strategy must be methods to attack the parasite as it passes from man to the mosquito (and vice versa). Such methods must be rationally based on a secure understanding of transmission from the molecular-, cellular-, population- to the evolutionary-levels. The meeting represented a first attempt to draw together scientists with expertise in these multiple layers of understanding to discuss the scientific foundations and resources that will be required to provide secure progress toward the design and successful implementation of effective interventions

The International Limits and Population at Risk of Plasmodium vivax Transmission in 2009

Growing evidence shows that Plasmodium vivax malaria is clinically less benign than has been commonly believed. In addition, it is the most widely distributed species of human malaria and is likely to cause more illness in certain regions than the more extensively studied P. falciparum malaria. Understanding where P. vivax transmission exists and measuring the number of people who live at risk of infection is a fundamental first step to estimating the global disease toll. The aim of this paper is to generate a reliable map of the worldwide distribution of this parasite and to provide an estimate of how many people are exposed to probable infection. A geographical information system was used to map data on the presence of P. vivax infection and spatial information on climatic conditions that impede transmission (low ambient temperature and extremely arid environments) in order to delineate areas where transmission was unlikely to take place. This map was combined with population distribution data to estimate how many people live in these areas and are, therefore, exposed to risk of infection by P. vivax malaria. The results show that 2.85 billion people were exposed to some level of risk of transmission in 2009

Estimating the Global Clinical Burden of Plasmodium falciparum Malaria in 2007

Simon Hay and colleagues derive contemporary estimates of the global clinical burden of Plasmodium falciparum malaria (the deadliest form of malaria) using cartography-based techniques

Reminiscences: My Forty-Year Romance with Malaria

Looking back some 55 years since beginning my graduate studies, I have come to appreciate my good fortune: (1) to have inaugurated and carried out, over a period of some 35 years, a three-pronged research program (birds, simians, and man) against the world\u27s most important infectious disease-malaria -and during two-thirds of that time, carrying worrisome administrative responsibilities; (2) to have participated in national and international efforts towards alleviation and control of that disease; (3) to have had a remarkable group of professional and subprofessional people who shared all kinds of problems; (4) to have received full support of my scientific efforts from the Directors of the National Institutes of Health, and last, but not least; (5) to have a wife who accepted my sometimes extended peregrinations, here and abroad, necessitated by my commitment to the problem of malaria. A reporter might ask, How did a native Nebraskan, brought up with winter\u27s snow and hot dry summers choose a tropical disease career