Abstract
Background The distributions of human malaria parasite species overlap in most regions of the world where malaria is present, and co-infections involving two or more malaria parasites are common. Currently, very little is known about the consequences of any interactions that may occur between species during co-infection for disease severity and parasite transmission success. However, current anti-malarial interventions such as vector control and drug interventions and the future application of vaccines will and do have disproportionate effects on some species compared to others; with the ultimate consequence of reducing the number of species in circulation in any one area. We believe that such a situation warrants a clearer understanding of how the interactions between species affect malaria disease and transmission dynamics.
Highlights
The distributions of human malaria parasite species overlap in most regions of the world where malaria is present, and co-infections involving two or more malaria parasites are common
As controlled competition experiments using human malaria parasites are currently practically impossible, we assessed the consequences of mixed-species infections on parasite fitness, disease severity and transmission success using the rodent malaria parasite species Plasmodium chabaudi, P. yoelii yoelii (CU) and P. vinckei lentum (DS)
We found that co-infections of P. yoelii with either P. vinckei or P. chabaudi led to a dramatic increase in infection virulence, with 100% mortality observed in mixed species infections, compared to no mortality for P. yoelii and P. vinckei single infections, and 40% mortality for P. chabaudi single infections
Summary
The distributions of human malaria parasite species overlap in most regions of the world where malaria is present, and co-infections involving two or more malaria parasites are common. Very little is known about the consequences of any interactions that may occur between species during co-infection for disease severity and parasite transmission success. Current anti-malarial interventions such as vector control and drug interventions and the future application of vaccines will and do have disproportionate effects on some species compared to others; with the ultimate consequence of reducing the number of species in circulation in any one area. We believe that such a situation warrants a clearer understanding of how the interactions between species affect malaria disease and transmission dynamics
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