Plasmodium knowlesi

Plasmodium knowlesi infected erythrocytes from human subjects bind in a specific but variable manner to the inducible endothelial receptors ICAM-1 and VCAM.

This study defines a new system for probing the function of Plasmodium genes by library-based genetic complementation and its usefulness in revealing new biochemical properties of encoded proteins.

Genes underlying important phenotypic differences between Plasmodium species, the causative agents of malaria, are frequently found in only a subset of species and cluster at dynamically evolving subtelomeric regions of chromosomes.

The parasite was a major monkey animal model for developing antimalarial vaccines and investigations of the biology of parasite invasion. P. knowlesi is the first monkey malaria parasite genome to be sequenced and annotated.

To determine the prevalence of P. knowlesi malaria in malaria-endemic areas of Thailand, we analyzed genetic characteristics of P. knowlesi circulating among naturally infected macaques and humans.

With continuous efforts in the optimization of this assay, LAMP may provide a simple and reliable test for detecting P. knowlesi malaria parasites in areas where malaria is prevalent.

Here we report a case of human P. knowlesi reinfection. Phylogenetic sequence analysis shows that the first and second infections were caused by different strains of P. knowlesi.

We describe the clinical features, disease spectrum, and response to antimalarial chemotherapy, including artemether-lumefantrine and artesunate, in patients with P. knowlesi malaria diagnosed by PCR during December 2007–November 2009 at a tertiary care hospital in Sabah, Malaysia.

These results imply that even if human malaria could be eliminated, forests that harbor An. dirus mosquitoes and macaque monkeys will remain a reservoir for the zoonotic transmission of P. knowlesi.

A case of P. knowlesi malaria is described in a helicopter pilot from New Zealand, who became ill after returning from recurring visits to Malaysian Borneo in June 2010. His P. knowlesi infection was not detected using microscopic examination and a rapid diagnostic test for malaria, but was confirmed by both PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and sequence analysis showing homology with the ribosomal RNA gene for P. knowlesi.