Department of Pathobiological and Medical Diagnostics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
Department of Pathobiological and Medical Diagnostics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.
J Microbiol Immunol Infect. 2019 Oct;52(5):679-684. doi: 10.1016/j.jmii.2019.05.012. Epub 2019 Jul 6.
Plasmodium knowlesi is now regarded as the fifth malaria parasite causing human malaria as it is widely distributed in South-East Asian countries especially east Malaysia where two Malaysian states namely Sabah and Sarawak are situated. In 2004, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was applied for diagnosing knowlesi malaria in the Kapit Division of Sarawak, Malaysia, so that human P. knowlesi infections could be detected correctly while blood film microscopy diagnosed incorrectly as Plasmodium malariae. This parasite is transmitted from simian hosts to humans via Anopheles vectors. Indonesia is the another country in South East Asia where knowlesi malaria is moderately prevalent. In the last decade, Sarawak and Sabah, the two states of east Malaysia became the target of P. knowlesi research due to prevalence of cases with occasional fatal infections. The host species of P. knowlesi are three macaque species namely Macaca fascicularis, Macaca nemestrina and Macaca leonina while the vector species are the Leucosphyrus Complex and the Dirus Complex of the Leucophyrus Group of Anopheles mosquitoes. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) are non-existent for knowlesi malaria although timely treatment is necessary for preventing complications, fatality and drug resistance. Development of RDT is essential in dealing with P. knowlesi infections in poor rural healthcare services. Genetic studies of the parasite on possibility of human-to-human transmission of P. knowlesi were recommended for further studies.
疟原虫 knowlesi 现已被认为是第五种导致人类疟疾的疟原虫，因为它广泛分布在东南亚国家，特别是马来西亚东部，马来西亚的两个州——沙巴和砂拉越就位于那里。2004 年，聚合酶链反应（PCR）被应用于诊断马来西亚沙捞越的卡皮蒂区的 knowlesi 疟疾，以便在血片显微镜诊断错误为疟疾病原虫时能够正确检测到人类 P. knowlesi 感染。这种寄生虫通过疟蚊从灵长类宿主传播给人类。印度尼西亚是东南亚另一个疟原虫 knowlesi 中度流行的国家。在过去的十年中，由于偶尔发生致命感染的病例，东马来西亚的沙捞越和沙巴成为 P. knowlesi 研究的目标。P. knowlesi 的宿主物种是三种猕猴，即食蟹猕猴、长尾猕猴和狮尾猕猴，而媒介物种是 Leucosphyrus 复合体和 Leucophyrus 组的疟蚊的 Dirus 复合体。虽然及时治疗对于预防并发症、死亡和耐药性是必要的，但目前还没有针对疟原虫 knowlesi 的快速诊断测试（RDT）。在贫困的农村医疗服务中，开发 RDT 对于处理 P. knowlesi 感染至关重要。建议对寄生虫进行遗传研究，以研究 P. knowlesi 是否有可能在人与人之间传播。
