AUTHOR=Ramasamy Ranjan 

TITLE=Zoonotic Malaria – Global Overview and Research and Policy Needs

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=2

YEAR=2014

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2014.00123

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2014.00123

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p>The four main <italic>Plasmodium</italic> species that cause human malaria, <italic>Plasmodium falciparum</italic>, <italic>Plasmodium vivax</italic>, <italic>Plasmodium malariae</italic>, and <italic>Plasmodium ovale</italic>, are transmitted between humans by mosquito vectors belonging to the genus <italic>Anopheles</italic>. It has recently become evident that <italic>Plasmodium knowlesi</italic>, a parasite that typically infects forest macaque monkeys, can be transmitted by anophelines to cause malaria in humans in Southeast Asia. <italic>Plasmodium knowlesi</italic> infections are frequently misdiagnosed microscopically as <italic>P. malariae</italic>. Direct human to human transmission of <italic>P. knowlesi</italic> by anophelines has not yet been established to occur in nature. Knowlesi malaria must therefore be presently considered a zoonotic disease. Polymerase chain reaction is now the definitive method for differentiating <italic>P. knowlesi</italic> from <italic>P. malariae</italic> and other human malaria parasites. The origin of <italic>P. falciparum</italic> and <italic>P. vivax</italic> in African apes are examples of ancient zoonoses that may be continuing at the present time with at least <italic>P. vivax</italic>, and possibly <italic>P. malariae</italic> and <italic>P. ovale</italic>. Other non-human primate malaria species, e.g., <italic>Plasmodium cynomolgi</italic> in Southeast Asia and <italic>Plasmodium brasilianum</italic> and <italic>Plasmodium simium</italic> in South America, can be transmitted to humans by mosquito vectors further emphasizing the potential for continuing zoonoses. The potential for zoonosis is influenced by human habitation and behavior as well as the adaptive capabilities of parasites and vectors. There is insufficient knowledge of the bionomics of <italic>Anopheles</italic> vector populations relevant to the cross-species transfer of malaria parasites and the real extent of malaria zoonoses. Appropriate strategies, based on more research, need to be developed for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of zoonotic malaria.</p>