Malaria is one of the most deadly infectious diseases that mankind has ever had to confront, rivaled only by the bubonic plague which swept through Eurasia in the 14th Century and the smallpox epidemic donated by westerners to the New World. Roughly a half billion people fight the disease annually, with some two million losing the battle. Most of the fatalities are young children in sub-Saharan Africa.Malaria is caused by a group of protozoans in the genus Plasmodium, the most deadly of which, P. falciparum, is the agent of almost all lethal infections. The parasite is carried from host to host by the bite of the female Anopholes mosquito. Within the human host, the parasites reproduce within red blood cells. The infected experience fever, pain, and weakness. The most unfortunate - coma and death.
A new study led by researchers in France and Gabon has identified another host for P. falciparum - gorillas. The research also provides additional evidence that this deadliest form of the parasite had its origins in another Plasmodium species found in chimpanzees. These conclusions are drawn from fecal samples taken from 125 chimpanzees and 84 gorillas in Cameroon. In the gorillas, the researchers found two new Plasmodium species - and P. falciparum.
The bad news here is that increased contact between the apes and humans resulting from deforestation could lead to increased malarial transmission rates. Another cross to bear, as well, for already dwindling gorilla populations. The "good news", at least on the human side of the equation, is that this adds to our knowledge about the parasite and also about the potential for interspecific transmission of infectious diseases.
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