EcoLocalizer

In a study published earlier this week, researchers from the United States reported that malaria originated in chimpanzees. The scientists discovered that the parasite that causes malaria is closely related to a parasite found in chimps.  

• » See also: On the Brink of Extinction: Call to Close Cruel and Inhumane Tiger Farms
• » Get EcoLocalizer by RSS or sign up by email.

According to the research, the genetic analysis suggested the human parasite is a “direct descendant” of the parasite found in chimps.  Blood samples were taken from 94 malaria-infected wild and wild-born captive chimps in Africa.  The DNA from the chimps was compared to the DNA structure of human malaria.  Chimp malaria, Plasmodium reichenowi, was genetically similar to Plasmodium falciparum, the strain that kills humans.  Eight new isolates of Plasmodium reichenowi, the closest known relative of Plasmodium falciparum, were found in the samples. 

It appears that malaria, like HIV, jumped species from chimp to man.  In a CNN interview , Dr. Nathan D. Wolfe of Stanford University explained that one single infected mosquito fed on a chimpanzee and later fed on a human, permitting the cross-over to humans. Transmission may have occurred as recently as 10,000 years ago.

Wolfe, co-author of the study and founder and director of the research institute Global Viral Forecasting Initiative, has had malaria three times.

Malaria

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria, one of the deadliest diseases known to mankind, kills nearly 1 million people and infects millions each year.  A child dies from malaria every 30 seconds. Transmitted by mosquitoes, malaria is resistant to numerous drugs and no effective vaccine is currently available.  This discovery may help researchers develop a new vaccine.

For more information on the study, visit the Origins of Malignant Malaria, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

Chimp photo courtesy of Aaron Logan via Creative Commons license.

Tweet This Post

You might also like: