Until the beginning of this century, it was believed that severe and life threatening complications of malaria are caused only by P. falciparum infection, whereas P. vivax infections are relatively mild, and run a benign course without any severe complication or death. However, a study from India reported firm evidence of both sequestration and non-sequestration related complications including cerebral malaria and PMNS, convulsion, renal failure, circulatory collapse, severe anemia, thrombocytopenia with or without bleeding, hemoglobinuria, ARDS, hepatic dysfunction, jaundice, and pregnancy related complications including intrauterine growth restriction and miscarriage in patients of PCR confirmed P. vivax monoinfection (Emerg Infect Dis. 2005; 11(1):132-134). The involvements of other organ dysfunctions are nicely summarized elsewhere. Nat Med. 2011; 17(1):48-9).
Since then, there have been several reports of severe vivax malaria from other countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, as well as many other Asian and African countries. This observation was further confirmed by a very nicely conducted autopsy study (Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2012; 55 (8) : e67–e74). The epidemiological and clinical pattern of severe P. vivax infections has marked variation across and within geographic regions. There is marked uncertainty over the true incidence, prevalence, and outcomes of severe vivax malaria because of paucity of clinical and epidemiological research. It is more frequent among extremes of age, females, pregnant women, individuals presenting with their first malarial infection, associated comorbidities and coinfection, and chloroquine resistance. Recent observations indicate almost similar risk of developing severe malaria, multi organ dysfunction, and mortality as seen in P. falciparum infection. Despite evidence of severe manifestations and deaths, the pathogenesis of this low density parasitic infection is not clearly known and scientists all over the world are working on different aspects related to this variant of the parasite.
This Research Topic invites papers covering issues related to: epidemiology, pattern of clinical presentation, role of specific climatic and environment condition and vectors, treatment seeking behavior of community, possible role of delay in diagnosis and treatment, effect of associated comorbid conditions and coinfections, association of pregnancy, immune status, economic and nutritional status of the patients, severe vivax malaria in travelers, transcriptomics, proteomics, genomic, metabolomics and immunological study in host and parasite and other studies including systems biology, molecular surveillance of P. vivax drug resistance markers in severe vivax patients; studies related to hidden reservoir of P. vivax (spleen and bone marrow), culture and transfection studies for better understanding of complex P. vivax biology are likely to unfold issues related to pathogenesis.
Keywords:
malaria, plasmodium vivax, severe vivax, severe malaria, epidemiology
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
Until the beginning of this century, it was believed that severe and life threatening complications of malaria are caused only by P. falciparum infection, whereas P. vivax infections are relatively mild, and run a benign course without any severe complication or death. However, a study from India reported firm evidence of both sequestration and non-sequestration related complications including cerebral malaria and PMNS, convulsion, renal failure, circulatory collapse, severe anemia, thrombocytopenia with or without bleeding, hemoglobinuria, ARDS, hepatic dysfunction, jaundice, and pregnancy related complications including intrauterine growth restriction and miscarriage in patients of PCR confirmed P. vivax monoinfection (Emerg Infect Dis. 2005; 11(1):132-134). The involvements of other organ dysfunctions are nicely summarized elsewhere. Nat Med. 2011; 17(1):48-9).
Since then, there have been several reports of severe vivax malaria from other countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, as well as many other Asian and African countries. This observation was further confirmed by a very nicely conducted autopsy study (Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2012; 55 (8) : e67–e74). The epidemiological and clinical pattern of severe P. vivax infections has marked variation across and within geographic regions. There is marked uncertainty over the true incidence, prevalence, and outcomes of severe vivax malaria because of paucity of clinical and epidemiological research. It is more frequent among extremes of age, females, pregnant women, individuals presenting with their first malarial infection, associated comorbidities and coinfection, and chloroquine resistance. Recent observations indicate almost similar risk of developing severe malaria, multi organ dysfunction, and mortality as seen in P. falciparum infection. Despite evidence of severe manifestations and deaths, the pathogenesis of this low density parasitic infection is not clearly known and scientists all over the world are working on different aspects related to this variant of the parasite.
This Research Topic invites papers covering issues related to: epidemiology, pattern of clinical presentation, role of specific climatic and environment condition and vectors, treatment seeking behavior of community, possible role of delay in diagnosis and treatment, effect of associated comorbid conditions and coinfections, association of pregnancy, immune status, economic and nutritional status of the patients, severe vivax malaria in travelers, transcriptomics, proteomics, genomic, metabolomics and immunological study in host and parasite and other studies including systems biology, molecular surveillance of P. vivax drug resistance markers in severe vivax patients; studies related to hidden reservoir of P. vivax (spleen and bone marrow), culture and transfection studies for better understanding of complex P. vivax biology are likely to unfold issues related to pathogenesis.
Keywords:
malaria, plasmodium vivax, severe vivax, severe malaria, epidemiology
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.