{"id":2771,"date":"2016-07-26T18:08:50","date_gmt":"2016-07-26T22:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/plataformalac.org\/en\/?p=2771"},"modified":"2016-07-26T18:08:50","modified_gmt":"2016-07-26T22:08:50","slug":"study-warns-common-malaria-species-is-evolving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plataformalac.org\/en\/2016\/07\/study-warns-common-malaria-species-is-evolving\/","title":{"rendered":"Study warns common malaria species is evolving"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: scidev.net<\/a><\/p>\n

[MANILA] Plasmodium vivax, the more widespread strain of malaria<\/a>, has greater genetic diversity than the deadly P. falciparum<\/em>, which means that P. vivax may evolve differently to the anti-malarial drugs<\/a> used in varying parts of the world, according to a new study in the Nature Genetics<\/em> (27 June).<\/p>\n

\u201cP. vivax<\/em> is more likely to be the more difficult species to eliminate, and so more funds<\/a> should be available to study better ways to control the species,\u201d Jane Carlton, a professor at New York University’s Department of Biology who led the study, tells SciDev.Net<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis study provides the data to support what many already believe \u2014 that malaria is not the same across all countries.\u201d<\/h3>\n

By Rhoel Dinglasan, University of Florida<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

P. vivax <\/em>causes an estimated 15.8 million clinical malaria cases each year. Some of the hardest hit countries are in South-East Asia and the Western Pacific.<\/p>\n

But P. vivax<\/em> has historically remained in the shadow of P. falciparum<\/em> when it comes to public health priorities. This stems from the false notion handed down since colonial times that P. vivax<\/em> is a benign disease<\/a>, which has been corrected by the scientific community over the past decade.<\/p>\n

Carlton says that the burden of P. falciparum<\/em> has decreased due to better control methods \u201cso now is an excellent time to reinvigorate P. vivax<\/em>malaria research\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the study, researchers sequenced roughly 200 DNA samples of P. vivax<\/em>collected from humans, making it the largest number of P. vivax<\/em> genomes<\/a>sequenced to date.<\/p>\n

The scientists were able to extricate DNA from its human host by using a set of unique \u201csticky baits\u201d that held on to the parasite\u2019s DNA while the human DNA washed away. Samples were collected through the International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research and came from 11 countries, including Myanmar, Papua New Guinea and Thailand.<\/p>\n

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