Avian malaria is caused by a diverse community of genetically differentiated parasites of the genera Plasmodium and Haemoproteus. Rapid seasonal and annual antigenic allele turnover resulting from selection by host immune systems, as observed in some parasite populations infecting humans, may extend analogously to dynamic species compositions within communities of avian malarial parasites. To a...

Seabird rehabilitation is a valuable strategy to mitigate the impacts of oil pollution and other anthropogenic factors, and can significantly contribute to the conservation of penguins. However, infectious diseases such as avian malaria (Plasmodium spp.) can hamper the success of rehabilitation efforts. We combined morphological and molecular diagnostic methods to investigate the epidemiology a...

Malaria and other mosquito borne diseases are common in Kolkata, India. Among the 34 species of mosquitoes recorded from Kolkata, 13 are anophelines, of that Anopheles annularis Van der Wulp, An. culicifacies Giles, and An. stephensi Liston are established vectors of malaria1–3. The abundance of these vector mosquitoes varies with the season and available habitats2–4. Mobility of human hosts be...

An. subpictus Grassi is a dominant species in Haryana and Uttaranchal states. Though it is a non-vector species but recently infected specimens with malarial parasite have been reported from India, Indonesia and Java1. This species is distributed throughout India, Afghanistan, Borneo, China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Java and Indonesia. Morphological variations have been record...

For vector-borne parasites such as malaria, how within- and between-host processes interact to shape transmission is poorly understood. In the host, malaria parasites replicate asexually but for transmission to occur, specialized sexual stages (gametocytes) must be produced. Despite the central role that gametocytes play in disease transmission, explanations of why parasites adjust gametocyte p...

Sphingolipids are a diverse and ubiquitous group of lipids. They are widely distributed in parasites and a number of novel forms have been described. Sphingolipid synthesis has been investigated in the malarial parasite, cestodes, digeneans and nematodes. Although there are differences in detail, the synthetic pathways involved are similar to those found in mammals.

Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium knowlesi are the parasites that infect humans. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax cause most of the malarial infections worldwide. Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium knowlesi are susceptible to chloroquine. Chloroquine was the world's most widely used antim...