Brazil, a country of continental proportions, presents three profiles of malaria transmission. The first and most important numerically, occurs inside the Amazon. The Amazon accounts for approximately 60% of the nation's territory and approximately 13% of the Brazilian population. This region hosts 99.5% of the nation's malaria cases, which are predominantly caused by Plasmodium vivax (i.e., 82...

Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) is a partial PCR based on water-oil emulsion droplet technology. It is a highly sensitive method for detecting and delineating minor alleles from complex backgrounds and provides absolute quantification of DNA targets. The ddPCR technology has been applied for detection of many pathogens. Here the sensitive assay utilizing ddPCR for detection an...

BACKGROUND The burden of anemia attributable to non-falciparum malarias in regions with Plasmodium co-endemicity is poorly documented. We compared the hematological profile of patients with and without malaria in southern Papua, Indonesia. METHODS AND FINDINGS Clinical and laboratory data were linked for all patients presenting to a referral hospital between April 2004 and December 2012. Data...

BACKGROUND Babesiosis is an emerging health risk in several parts of the world. However, little is known about the prevalence of Babesia in malaria-endemic countries. The area along the China-Myanmar border in Yunnan is a main endemic area of malaria in P.R. China, however, human infection with Babesia microti (B. microti) is not recognized in this region, and its profile of co-infection is not...

BACKGROUND The significance of thrombocytopenia to the morbidity and mortality of malaria is poorly defined. We compared the platelet counts and clinical correlates of patients with and those without malaria in southern Papua, Indonesia. METHODS Data were collated on patients presenting to a referral hospital between April 2004 and December 2012. RESULTS Platelet measurements were available...

Plasmodium species exhibit differential preferences for red blood cells (RBCs) of different ages. From a fundamental standpoint, we propose an age-structured within-host malaria model taking into account the variation in RBCs preference. We show that such ecological characteristic within their human host is to capture diversity same infected individual. with difference preferences, long-term co...

Immunological aspects of 40 northern Nigerian children with nephrotic syndrome of recent onset are reported. Eight our of 30 had hepatitis-associated antigen in their sera. Hypocomplementaemia was rare. Measurement of serum C3, C4, and ASOT was not of diagnostic value. Proteinuria selectivity index was poor in half of the patients, and appeared t o depend on the severity of the kidney lesion. A...

Citation: Muktikesh Dash. “Malaria Vaccine Development: A Step Towards Reality”. EC Microbiology 2.3 (2015): 294-295. Malaria, a protozoan parasitic disease caused by five species of Plasmodium i.e., P. vivax, P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale and P. knowlesi in humans. Nearly half of the world’s population, an estimated 3.3 billion people in 97 countries and territories are at risk of malar...