Malaria News |
On the cytoadhesion of Plasmodium vivax-infected erythrocytes 
Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax are responsible for most of the global burden of malaria. Although the accentuated pathogenicity of P. falciparum occurs because of sequestration of the mature erythrocytic forms in the microvasculature, this phenomenon has not yet been noted in P. vivax. The increasing number of severe manifestations of P. vivax infections, similar to those observed for severe falciparum malaria, suggests that key pathogenic mechanisms (eg, cytoadherence) might be shared by the 2 parasites.
These observations prompt a modification of the current paradigms of the pathogenesis of malaria and clear the way to investigate the pathophysiology of P. vivax infections.
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