Cadigan Fc

Bio: Cadigan Fc is an academic researcher from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The author has contributed to research in topics: Chloroquine & Malaria. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 80 citations.

Human Infections and Detection of Plasmodium knowlesi

Abstract: Plasmodium knowlesi is a malaria parasite that is found in nature in long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques. Naturally acquired human infections were thought to be extremely rare until a large focus of human infections was reported in 2004 in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Human infections have since been described throughout Southeast Asia, and P. knowlesi is now recognized as the fifth species of Plasmodium causing malaria in humans. The molecular, entomological, and epidemiological data indicate that human infections with P. knowlesi are not newly emergent and that knowlesi malaria is primarily a zoonosis. Human infections were undiagnosed until molecular detection methods that could distinguish P. knowlesi from the morphologically similar human malaria parasite P. malariae became available. P. knowlesi infections cause a spectrum of disease and are potentially fatal, but if detected early enough, infections in humans are readily treatable. In this review on knowlesi malaria, we describe the early studies on P. knowlesi and focus on the epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical aspects, and treatment of knowlesi malaria. We also discuss the gaps in our knowledge and the challenges that lie ahead in studying the epidemiology and pathogenesis of knowlesi malaria and in the prevention and control of this zoonotic infection.

Clinical and laboratory features of human Plasmodium knowlesi infection.

Abstract: Background—Plasmodium knowlesi is increasingly recognized as a cause of human malaria in Southeast Asia but there are no detailed prospective clinical studies of naturally acquired infections. Methods—In a systematic study of the presentation and course of patients with acute P. knowlesi infection, clinical and laboratory data were collected from previously untreated, nonpregnant adults admitted to the hospital with polymerase chain reaction–confirmed acute malaria at Kapit Hospital (Sarawak, Malaysia) from July 2006 through February 2008. Results—Of 152 patients recruited, 107 (70%) had P. knowlesi infection, 24 (16%) had Plasmodium falciparum infection, and 21 (14%) had Plasmodium vivax. Patients with P. knowlesi infection presented with a nonspecific febrile illness, had a baseline median parasitemia value at hospital admission of 1387 parasites/μL (interquartile range, 6–222,570 parasites/μL), and all were thrombocytopenic at hospital admission or on the following day. Most (93.5%) of the patients with P. knowlesi infection had uncomplicated malaria that responded to chloroquine and primaquine treatment. Based on World Health Organization criteria for falciparum malaria, 7 patients with P. knowlesi infection (6.5%) had severe infections at hospital admission. The most frequent complication was respiratory distress, which was present at hospital admission in 4 patients and developed after admission in an additional 3 patients. P. knowlesi parasitemia at hospital admission was an independent determinant of respiratory distress, as were serum creatinine level, serum bilirubin, and platelet count at admission (P < .002 for each). Two patients with knowlesi malaria died, representing a case fatality rate of 1.8% (95% confidence interval, 0.2%–6.6%). Conclusions—Knowlesi malaria causes a wide spectrum of disease. Most cases are uncomplicated and respond promptly to treatment, but approximately 1 in 10 patients develop potentially fatal complications.

Naturally Acquired Plasmodium knowlesi Malaria in Human, Thailand

Abstract: We describe a case of naturally acquired infection with Plasmodium knowlesi in Thailand Diagnosis was confirmed by the small subunit ribosomal RNA and the mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences The occurrence of simian malaria in human has signified the roles of wild primate populations in disease transmission in some malaria-endemic areas