Estimating Geographical Variation in the Risk of Zoonotic Plasmodium knowlesi Infection in Countries Eliminating Malaria
Plasmodium knowlesi is a malaria parasite found in wild monkey populations and transmitted from this animal reservoir to humans via infected mosquitoes. It causes severe and fatal disease in humans, and is the most common cause of malaria in parts of Malaysia. The geographical distribution of thi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PLOS
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/12860/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/12860/1/Estimating%20Geographical%20Variation%20in%20the%20Risk%20of%20Zoonotic%20%28abstract%29.pdf |
| Summary: | Plasmodium knowlesi is a malaria parasite found in wild monkey populations and transmitted
from this animal reservoir to humans via infected mosquitoes. It causes severe and
fatal disease in humans, and is the most common cause of malaria in parts of Malaysia.
The geographical distribution of this disease is largely unknown because it is often misdiagnosed
as one of the human malarias. Human malaria parasites are primarily transmitted
between humans via mosquitoes and are not frequently transmitted from other animals to
humans. Many countries in Southeast Asia, where P. knowlesi infections have been
reported, are making progress towards eliminating the human malarias. Understanding
the geographical distribution of P. knowlesi is important for identifying areas where
malaria transmission will continue after the human malarias have been eliminated. In
locations that have high volumes of P. knowlesi infection data, we modelled patterns of
variation in the data linked to environmental predictors, and used this to estimate P. knowlesi
infection risk in locations where data is lacking. The resulting map represents an initial
evidence-base for identifying areas of human disease risk that should be prioritized for surveillance,
particularly in the context of malaria elimination in the region. |
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