Plasmodium vivax
| Plasmodium vivax | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Mature P. vivax trophozoite | |
| Scientific classification | |
| (unranked): | SAR |
| (unranked): | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | Apicomplexa |
| Class: | Aconoidasida |
| Order: | Haemosporida |
| Family: | Plasmodiidae |
| Genus: | Plasmodium |
| Species: | P. vivax |
| Binomial name | |
|
Plasmodium vivax (Grassi & Feletti, 1890) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Haemamoeba vivax Grassi and Feletti, 1890 |
|
Haemamoeba vivax Grassi and Feletti, 1890
Plasmodium malariae tertianae Celli and Sanfelice, 1891
Haemamoeba laverani var. tertiana Labbe, 1894(?)
Haemosporidium tertianae Lewkowicz, 1897
Plasmodium camarense Ziemann, 1915
Plasmodium vivax is a protozoal parasite and a human pathogen. The most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring (Benign tertian) malaria, P. vivax is one of the five species of malaria parasites that commonly infect humans. It is less virulent than Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of the five, but vivax malaria can lead to severe disease and death due to splenomegaly (a pathologically enlarged spleen).P. vivax is carried by the female Anopheles mosquito, since it is only the female of the species that bites.
Plasmodium vivax was found mainly in the United States, Latin America, and in some parts of Africa. More recently it became a plague of low- and middle-income countries, except those in sub-Saharan Africa, where the P. vivax map has a conspicuous hole. Overall it accounts for 65% of malaria cases in Asia and South America. It is logical that plasmodium vivax is found there where humans and mosquito population are high. It is uncommon in cooler areas.
As overall malaria rates fall in a region, the proportion of vivax cases increases. It has been estimated that 2.5 billion people are at risk of infection with this organism.
Although the Americas contribute 22% of the global area at risk, high endemic areas are generally sparsely populated and the region contributes only 6% to the total population at risk. In Africa, the widespread lack of the Duffy antigen in the population has ensured that stable transmission is constrained to Madagascar and parts of the Horn of Africa. It contributes 3.5% of global population at risk. Central Asia is responsible for 82% of global population at risk with high endemic areas coinciding with dense populations particularly in India and Myanmar. South East Asia has areas of high endemicity in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and overall contributes 9% of global population at risk.
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Wikipedia