We have compared results of Plasmodium species identification obtained with conventional on-site microscopy of Giemsa-stained thick smears (GTS) and a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 96 malaria patients from Rondônia, Western Brazilian Amazon. Mixed-species infections were detected by PCR in 30% patients, but no such case had been found on GTS. Moreover, P. malariae infections we...

The geographical distribution of the four human malaria parasite species–Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. ovale is variable and is dependent on a number of factors such as season, endemicity and vector distribution. P. vivax is the most widely distributed and the most common species observed in temperate regions of the world, while P. falciparum is the most widespread through...

To collect data regarding registered cases of malaria in the state of Paraná, attendance reports of suspected cases of malaria performed by Fundação Nacional de Saúde, Paraná regional center, were analyzed from January, 1994 through December, 1999. Of 31,975 blood samples examined, 7.4% were positive: 86.4% for Plasmodium vivax, 12.7% for P. falciparum, 0.04% for P. malariae and 0.9% for P. viv...

Malaria is a disease caused by parasites from genus Plasmodium , a member of the Apicomplexan family. Apicomplexans are unique in that they are the only fully parasitic large clade on the tree of life. It is thought that every type of mammal, bird, and reptile is parasitized by at least one species of Plasmodium (Morrison 2009 ) . Five Plasmodium species infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum , P...

BACKGROUND Recent reports of Plasmodium vivax associated with severe syndromes and mortality from malaria endemic areas questions the "benign" course of non-falciparum malarias. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed data from patients reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with a diagnosis of malaria parasite single-species infection between 1985 and 2011. Patients classi...