T. Smith et al., Prospective risk of morbidity in relation to malaria infection in an area of high endemicity of multiple species of Plasmodium, AM J TROP M, 64(5-6), 2001, pp. 262-267
Citations number
26
Categorie Soggetti
Envirnomentale Medicine & Public Health","Medical Research General Topics
In an area of Papua New Guinea with high prevalence of Plasmodium falciparu
m (39.6%), Plasmodium vivax (18.3%), and Plasmodium malariae (13.8%), cross
-sectional analysis found P. falciparum infection to be independent of the
other species despite heterogeneities in transmission. Plasmodium vivax and
P. malariae infections were negatively correlated. Plasmodium malariae inf
ection was positively associated with homologous infection four months prev
iously and with prior P. falciparum, but not P. vivax infection. There were
no other indications that any Plasmodium species protected against heterol
ogous infection. Prospective analysis of health-center morbidity supported
the idea that P. malariae infection protects against disease, but indicated
greater protection against non-malaria than P. falciparum-associated fever
s. Plasmodium vivax appeared to protect against P. falciparum disease but n
ot against other forms of morbidity. Covariate adjustment had considerable
effects on estimated relationships between species, and confounding variabl
es may account for many differences among reports of inter-species interact
ions in human malaria.