Intra-host mathematical models of malaria.

Abstract

Mathematical modelling of intra-host malaria is a relatively recent topic. Although the first mathematical model related to malaria was proposed by Sir Ronald Ross in 1915, the first attempt to model the parasite-host interactions was as recent as 1989. Since then, a moderate but steadily growing number of articles dealing with this topic have been published, including a couple of reviews. In this review, we aim to sum up the knowledge that this particular mathematical modelling approach has provided with respect to the role played by Plasmodium in infection mechanisms.