Prevalence of simian malaria among macaques in Malaysia (2000–2021): A systematic review

Abstract

Background The aim of Malaysia to eliminate malaria nationwide by 2020 seems need to be prolonged. Whilst Malaysia has successfully eliminated human malaria transmission, simian malaria parasites such as Plasmodium knowlesi, P. cynomolgi, P. inui and P. cynomolgi are the emerging cause of malaria in humans. The epidemiological study of simian malaria in primates provides useful information in identifying the risk of human-macaques Plasmodium infection. Methodology/Principal findings This study was performed to gather all available data in terms of simian malaria epidemiology study among macaques in Malaysia over the last two decades. This systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines to select appropriate articles as references. Data searches were performed through international databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, CrossRef, Scopus, Web of Science and Science Direct for original articles published from 2000 until 2021. The review identified seven simian malaria epidemiology studies in Malaysia over the 20-year study period. Most studies were conducted in Peninsular Malaysia (5/7; 71%) followed by East Malaysia (2/7; 29%). All studies showed positive detection of Plasmodium parasites in macaques. The most prevalent Plasmodium species in macaques was P. inui (49.27%) and the least prevalent was P. fieldi (4.76%). The prevalence of simian malaria was higher in East Malaysia compared to Peninsular Malaysia. The mono, dual and triple infection types were the most common among macaques. Conclusion/Significance The non-human primates like macaques are the reservoir of simian plasmodium in Malaysia. Hence, the study of host epidemiology is an important insight to public health management as there is a high occurrence of simian malaria in Malaysia. The right measurement can be taken as well to prevent the transmission of simian malaria from macaques to humans.

Genomic epidemiology ofPlasmodium knowlesireveals putative genetic drivers of adaptation in Malaysia

“…The result of such recombination is the highly related clones observed in the NRAF plots, which most probably derive from the co-transmission of polyclonal infections originating in the macaque hosts. Being a natural reservoir for multiple zoonotic Plasmodium species, macaques have been shown to be co-infected with up to five simian Plasmodium species (44) and multiple P. knowlesi clones (46, 47). Alternatively, the isolates in which we see distinct clones are more likely to be examples of superinfections, as multiple clones originating from the same macaque host would have undergone recombination during reproduction in the mosquito host.…”

“…The prevalence of apparent superinfections observed in Sabah is lower than frequencies observed in P. faciparum or P. vivax infections in moderate to high endemic settings (42, 43). However, it needs to be considered that the proportion of P. knowlesi superinfections described here is only reflective of the human host population and may be higher in the natural macaque hosts (44). Infection complexity in P. knowlesi is complicated by the zoonotic nature of P. knowlesi transmission, with multiple underlying parasite, host and epidemiological factors potentially influencing the establishment of successful erythrocytic replication of multiple inoculated P. knowlesi strains within humans causing symptomatic disease.…”

Plasmodium cynomolgi in humans: current knowledge and future directions of an emerging zoonotic malaria parasite

“…In natural conditions, Pcy has been reported as mono-infections and/or mixed infections with other simian malaria parasites such as P. inui ( Pin ), P. coatneyi ( Pct ) and P. fieldi ( Pfld ) (Table 1 and Supplementary material 1). A recent systematic review reported an average Pcy prevalence of 33.05% in macaques from Malaysia [ 35 ]. In Philippines, the prevalence of Pcy was 23.2% in captive and wild M. fascicularis long-tailed monkeys [ 36 ].…”

Methanol Extract Alstonia scholaris L. R. Br as Hepatoprotective Mice (Mus musculus) Infected with Plasmodium berghei ANKA Strains

“…Malaria is a protozoan infectious disease caused by Plasmodium, which is transmitted through the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito (Mali et al, 2006;Sam et al, 2022). Plasmodium in humans infects erythrocytes and undergoes asexual development in liver tissue and erythrocytes.…”