Life Sciences Assignment: Notes On Diagnosis Of Plasmodium Knowlesi (Essay Sample)

Updates on Knowlesi malaria
Short introduction
Geographical distribution
* Malaysia (P. falciparum and P. vivax decline, main cause -> P. knowlesi)
* Human infections: Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Brunei, Myanmar, Nicobar and Andaman Islands of India
*
Transmission
* Natural hosts are long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques
* Banded leaf monkey
* Dusk or later
* Peak biting time of vectors
* Anopheles leucosphyrus group
* An. balabacensis balabacensis, An latens, An dirus, An hacker, An cracens
* Subsistence farmers, timber camp workers, hunters, travelers, army personnel
Epidemiology
* Rapid development of parasitemia
* Short erythrocytic cycle of 24hrs
* Some asymptomatic, some fatal
* Fever with chills, headache, myalgia, poor appetite, arthralgia, cough, abdominal pain, diarrhea
* Severe: jaundice, acute kidney injury, hypotension, acute respiratory distress syndrome, metabolic acidosis
* Dengue-malaria co-infection
* Severe - >35000/uL
*
Molecular
* P. knowlesi is probably older than other malarial parasites
* Two-highly divergent subpopulations of knowlesi
* From long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques
* Potential third subpopulation, 50 yr isolate from peninsular Malaysia and Philippines
* Parasites in macaque hosts haven’t been under malarial drugs
* ...