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Considered mild till now, malaria strain turns deadly
NEW DELHI: A malaria strain considered till now as mild has now been found to be just as potentially fatal as the infamous type.
Scientists across the world, including India, are waking up to Plasmodium vivax's increasing notoriety and say the malaria strain is far from being benign. Vivax and plasmodium falciparum are the two major strains of malaria which affect humans globally. Global attention till now has focused on Falciparum ? considered to be the more virulent and deadly strain.
However now, both India and Indonesia have reported that even vivax has started to cause cerebral malaria ? a fatal complication that was earlier only associated with falciparum.
Scientists report vivax is fast developing resistance to standard treatments making it difficult to treat in countries such as India and Indonesia. Research has also revealed that in a region where multidrug-resistant strains of malaria are common, vivax infection is associated with fatal malaria, particularly in young children.
Dr A P Dash, director of ICMR's Malaria Research Centre, told TOI: "The clinical profile of vivax is gradually changing. Vivax has been found causing complications like jaundice, kidney failure and cerebral malaria. It is no more an innocent parasite. At present, 50% of the malaria cases in India are due to vivax."
This has now made Indian and American scientists jointly start a five-year-long study to better understand vivax, complications that can result in people infected with both vivax and falciparum and how common has cross-parasite interaction become.
Dr Dash said: "The study is being funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH). India's National Institute of Malaria Research will contribute $50,000 to the study. NIMR and New York University scientists will also try to culture the vivax strain in the lab that will help us study its virulence and drug sensitivity. Till now, only falciparum strain has been cultured."
Two separate studies, conducted in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea by scientists from Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin and the Swiss Tropical Institute in Basels and published in the international medical journal 'PLoS Medicine' on Tuesday, have found vivax to be responsible for high rates of severe disease and death.
Dr Ric Price from MSHR said immediate research is needed to learn more about the pattern of severe malaria associated with vivax, in particular, with multi drug-resistant strains.
"There is a need to consider both strains when implementing measures designed to reduce the burden in regions where these parasites co-exist. At present more focus is paid to falciparum," he said.
NEW DELHI: A malaria strain considered till now as mild has now been found to be just as potentially fatal as the infamous type.
Scientists across the world, including India, are waking up to Plasmodium vivax's increasing notoriety and say the malaria strain is far from being benign. Vivax and plasmodium falciparum are the two major strains of malaria which affect humans globally. Global attention till now has focused on Falciparum ? considered to be the more virulent and deadly strain.
However now, both India and Indonesia have reported that even vivax has started to cause cerebral malaria ? a fatal complication that was earlier only associated with falciparum.
Scientists report vivax is fast developing resistance to standard treatments making it difficult to treat in countries such as India and Indonesia. Research has also revealed that in a region where multidrug-resistant strains of malaria are common, vivax infection is associated with fatal malaria, particularly in young children.
Dr A P Dash, director of ICMR's Malaria Research Centre, told TOI: "The clinical profile of vivax is gradually changing. Vivax has been found causing complications like jaundice, kidney failure and cerebral malaria. It is no more an innocent parasite. At present, 50% of the malaria cases in India are due to vivax."
This has now made Indian and American scientists jointly start a five-year-long study to better understand vivax, complications that can result in people infected with both vivax and falciparum and how common has cross-parasite interaction become.
Dr Dash said: "The study is being funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH). India's National Institute of Malaria Research will contribute $50,000 to the study. NIMR and New York University scientists will also try to culture the vivax strain in the lab that will help us study its virulence and drug sensitivity. Till now, only falciparum strain has been cultured."
Two separate studies, conducted in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea by scientists from Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin and the Swiss Tropical Institute in Basels and published in the international medical journal 'PLoS Medicine' on Tuesday, have found vivax to be responsible for high rates of severe disease and death.
Dr Ric Price from MSHR said immediate research is needed to learn more about the pattern of severe malaria associated with vivax, in particular, with multi drug-resistant strains.
"There is a need to consider both strains when implementing measures designed to reduce the burden in regions where these parasites co-exist. At present more focus is paid to falciparum," he said.