QUESTIONWhat is a malaria host range?ANSWERUsually, a malaria host range refers to the natural geographical range of one of the hosts of a particular species of malaria. So, for example, Plasmodium reichenowi normally only infects chimpanzees. Chimpanzees live mainly in central and western Africa, so this would determine the host range for P. reichenowi. Other species of malaria, such … [Read more...]
Evolution of Malaria
QUESTIONhow did malaria evolve?ANSWERMalaria in humans probably evolved independently several times, and both times likely due to a cross-over event from a closely related primate malaria. For example, Plasmodium vivax is evolutionarily closely related to several species of malaria found in macaque monkeys in south-east Asia, and so a cross-over of one of those species into human, with … [Read more...]