Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
(
Fig. 1.3
D1). In this region, the importance of
P. vivax
is overshadowed by
P.
falciparum
and as such is not recorded in many countries. However,
P. vivax
infection has been observed in Duffy-positive and -negative individuals in
the region, hence, it would be prudent for countries to monitor the preva-
lence of the parasite. While prevalence data were lacking from the region as
a whole, the areas that would benefit most from improved surveillance are
those with higher intensity transmission: Ethiopia, Madagascar and Somalia.
This would reduce the uncertainty of the predictions and allow for better
monitoring of control efforts. Lastly, the vector data available for the DVS
in the region was relatively poor. Although the vector profile of Africa+
is straightforward, increased occurrence records may capture intricacies in
distribution patterns and help distinguish vector and non-vector species of
species complexes.
5. DISCUSSION
Plasmodium vivax
malaria imposes serious public health burdens and
is the most widespread of all the human malarias, particularly in women
and children in poorly resourced communities (
Poespoprodjo et al., 2008
,
2009
). Robust evidence demonstrates that
P. vivax
, despite long-held con-
vention, is not a 'benign' infection (
Baird, 2007
;
Price et al., 2007b
). More-
over, studies show that 60-year-old drugs used to treat vivax malaria are
failing throughout much of the
P. vivax
-endemic world (
Baird, 2009
;
Price
et al., 2009
). The hypnozoitocidal component of that treatment, prima-
quine, is a deeply flawed therapy due to the threat it imposes to G6PD
deficient patients (
Baird, 2007
). The reader is also referred to the chapter
by Howes et al. that appears elsewhere in this thematic issue of
Advances in
Parasitology
(Chapter 4, Volume 81). These issues are brought into focus as
www.mdgmonitor.org/
)
, are developed to halt or mitigate malaria inci-
dence and further goals are set for the elimination of the disease (
WHO,
2007
;
Feachem and Sabot, 2008
;
The Global Health Group and the Malaria
Atlas Project, 2011
). Neglect of the impact and study of
P. vivax
is incompat-
ible with these expressed goals.
The
P. vivax
PR estimates reviewed here are, across the American,
African and Asian regions, uniformly low in comparison with PR esti-
mates derived for
P. falciparum
(
Gething et al., 2011a
). The PR spectrum for
P. vivax
ranges from 0% to 7%, whereas for
P. falciparum
, it is 0 to 70%. This
seems to imply
P. falciparum
transmission is an order-of-magnitude greater,
