The Open Tropical Medicine Journal




(Discontinued)

ISSN: 1874-3153 ― Volume 7, 2014

From Asia, the Novel (and Old) Fifth Malaria Plasmodium of Human Beings


The Open Tropical Medicine Journal, 2011, 4: 21-25

Sergio Sabbatani, Sirio Fiorino, Roberto Manfredi

Infectious Diseases, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Via Massarenti 11, I-40138 Bologna, Italy.

Electronic publication date 29/9/2011
[DOI: 10.2174/1874315301104010021]




Abstract:

A novel form of human malaria Plasmodium knowlesi has been identified in small epidemic foci occurred during the last decade in Malaysia. Based on a review of the available literature data, the Authors underline the diagnostic importance of molecular biology examinations performed with primers which are specific of Plasmodium knowlesi, since the standard hemoscopy may fail in distinguishing Plasmodium knowlesi from Plasmodium malariae, due to their similar appearance. P. knowlesi has been reported as a causative parasite agent of life-threatening and even lethal forms of malaria. In humans, its clinical picture is more severe a compared to that of P. malariae, since the disease is characterized by a greater parasitemia, versus that is referred in the course of P. malariae disease. The most effective carrier of P. knowlesi is represented by the mosquito Anopheles leucosphyrus, which is attracted by both humans and monkeys. Among primates, the natural hosts of P. Knowlesi are known until now and have been represented by Macaca fascicularis and Macaca nemestina, while other monkeys including Saimiri scirea and Macaca mulatta, which cannot become infected. These might be useful in eventual experimental models. When facing the potentially severe evolution of human disease by P. knowlesi, we remark the key role played by a prompt disease recognition, which is expected to be more easy and obvious in patients followed in endemic countries at elevate risk, but should be carefully implemented for subjects coming back to health care services of western countries, presenting with a number of typical signs and symptoms of malaria, after travelling in South-East Asia where they were engaged in staying or making excursions in the tropical forest. In these last cases, both diagnosis and treatment should be prompt, timely, and appropriate. According to literature data, in non-severe human cases the old and trivial chloroquine remained very effective against P. knowlesi, achieving the disappearance of signs and symptoms in 96% of cases within the first day of pharmacological therapy. On the ground of the emerging epidemiological figures, P. knowlesi was added to Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium falciparum, as the fifth etiological agent of human malaria. During the next years, it will become mandatory to plan an adequate surveillance programme of the epidemiological evolution of this novel form of human malaria, paying also maximum attention to the clinical presentation of patients affected by P. knowlesi malaria, which are expected to suffer from a more severe clinical course, according to the time elapsed from the appearance of the early signs and symptoms. Some preliminary clinical figures suggest that a greater severity is related to an increased parasitemia, and parallels the increased interhuman infectious passages of parasites.


Download PDF

Track Your Manuscript:


Endorsements



"Open access will revolutionize 21st century knowledge work and accelerate the diffusion of ideas and evidence that support just in time learning and the evolution of thinking in a number of disciplines."


Daniel Pesut
(Indiana University School of Nursing, USA)

"It is important that students and researchers from all over the world can have easy access to relevant, high-standard and timely scientific information. This is exactly what Open Access Journals provide and this is the reason why I support this endeavor."


Jacques Descotes
(Centre Antipoison-Centre de Pharmacovigilance, France)

"Publishing research articles is the key for future scientific progress. Open Access publishing is therefore of utmost importance for wider dissemination of information, and will help serving the best interest of the scientific community."


Patrice Talaga
(UCB S.A., Belgium)

"Open access journals are a novel concept in the medical literature. They offer accessible information to a wide variety of individuals, including physicians, medical students, clinical investigators, and the general public. They are an outstanding source of medical and scientific information."


Jeffrey M. Weinberg
(St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, USA)

"Open access journals are extremely useful for graduate students, investigators and all other interested persons to read important scientific articles and subscribe scientific journals. Indeed, the research articles span a wide range of area and of high quality. This is specially a must for researchers belonging to institutions with limited library facility and funding to subscribe scientific journals."


Debomoy K. Lahiri
(Indiana University School of Medicine, USA)

"Open access journals represent a major break-through in publishing. They provide easy access to the latest research on a wide variety of issues. Relevant and timely articles are made available in a fraction of the time taken by more conventional publishers. Articles are of uniformly high quality and written by the world's leading authorities."


Robert Looney
(Naval Postgraduate School, USA)

"Open access journals have transformed the way scientific data is published and disseminated: particularly, whilst ensuring a high quality standard and transparency in the editorial process, they have increased the access to the scientific literature by those researchers that have limited library support or that are working on small budgets."


Richard Reithinger
(Westat, USA)

"Not only do open access journals greatly improve the access to high quality information for scientists in the developing world, it also provides extra exposure for our papers."


J. Ferwerda
(University of Oxford, UK)

"Open Access 'Chemistry' Journals allow the dissemination of knowledge at your finger tips without paying for the scientific content."


Sean L. Kitson
(Almac Sciences, Northern Ireland)

"In principle, all scientific journals should have open access, as should be science itself. Open access journals are very helpful for students, researchers and the general public including people from institutions which do not have library or cannot afford to subscribe scientific journals. The articles are high standard and cover a wide area."


Hubert Wolterbeek
(Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands)

"The widest possible diffusion of information is critical for the advancement of science. In this perspective, open access journals are instrumental in fostering researches and achievements."


Alessandro Laviano
(Sapienza - University of Rome, Italy)

"Open access journals are very useful for all scientists as they can have quick information in the different fields of science."


Philippe Hernigou
(Paris University, France)

"There are many scientists who can not afford the rather expensive subscriptions to scientific journals. Open access journals offer a good alternative for free access to good quality scientific information."


Fidel Toldrá
(Instituto de Agroquimica y Tecnologia de Alimentos, Spain)

"Open access journals have become a fundamental tool for students, researchers, patients and the general public. Many people from institutions which do not have library or cannot afford to subscribe scientific journals benefit of them on a daily basis. The articles are among the best and cover most scientific areas."


M. Bendandi
(University Clinic of Navarre, Spain)

"These journals provide researchers with a platform for rapid, open access scientific communication. The articles are of high quality and broad scope."


Peter Chiba
(University of Vienna, Austria)

"Open access journals are probably one of the most important contributions to promote and diffuse science worldwide."


Jaime Sampaio
(University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal)

"Open access journals make up a new and rather revolutionary way to scientific publication. This option opens several quite interesting possibilities to disseminate openly and freely new knowledge and even to facilitate interpersonal communication among scientists."


Eduardo A. Castro
(INIFTA, Argentina)

"Open access journals are freely available online throughout the world, for you to read, download, copy, distribute, and use. The articles published in the open access journals are high quality and cover a wide range of fields."


Kenji Hashimoto
(Chiba University, Japan)

"Open Access journals offer an innovative and efficient way of publication for academics and professionals in a wide range of disciplines. The papers published are of high quality after rigorous peer review and they are Indexed in: major international databases. I read Open Access journals to keep abreast of the recent development in my field of study."


Daniel Shek
(Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

"It is a modern trend for publishers to establish open access journals. Researchers, faculty members, and students will be greatly benefited by the new journals of Bentham Science Publishers Ltd. in this category."


Jih Ru Hwu
(National Central University, Taiwan)


Browse Contents



Webmaster Contact: info@benthamopen.net
Copyright © 2023 Bentham Open