Zoonotic malaria in sub-Saharan Africa: A Mini-Review

Abstract

Malaria is a serious public health problem worldwide despite concerted efforts to control and eliminate it. Zoonotic malaria is emerging as a big threat to malaria elimination efforts. There is a big knowledge gap in our understanding of zoonotic malaria. It is difficult to adequately detect and identify Plasmodium species responsible for zoonotic malaria with conventional diagnostic tools. Although molecular tools have good sensitivity and specificity to diagnose zoonotic malaria, they are not readily available in resource-limited settings. There is limited data on the epidemiology of zoonotic malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. However, various reports signal for the presence of its risk lurking in the area. Therefore, organized and comprehensive studies are needed to characterize its epidemiology in sub-Saharan Africa to guide strategies of mitigating zoonotic malaria in particular and malaria in general.