Plasmodium knowlesi: The fifth malaria parasite

Abstract

In 2004, a large focus of human malaria infection in Malaysian Borneo alerted the world community about the emergence of Plasmodium knowlesi as a new threat to public health. It is a zoonotic disease transmitted primarily between nonhuman primate hosts by the Anopheles mosquitoes. At present it has become endemic in most of the South East Asian countries and human cases are being reported on a regular basis. The importance of this species lies in the fact that similar to P.falciparum, it can cause high parasitaemia and severe malaria which may require hospitalization. This review deals with the history, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical aspects, diagnosis, and treatment of P.knowlesi malaria, and the potential threat of this parasite for India.

Keywords

• plasmodium
• knowlesi