Dipartimento di Malattie Infettive, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
ICBMS CNRS 5246, SMITh, Malaria Research Unit, Campus Lyon-Tech La Doua, Lyon University, Lyon, France - Groupement Hospitalier Nord, Institut de Parasitologie et Mycologie Médicale, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2020 Oct-Dec;56(4):409-418. doi: 10.4415/ANN_20_04_02.
Plasmodium vivax has been considered for years as responsible for a mild form of malaria, due to the absence in the majority of its infections of the severe form of the disease, typical instead of the deadly human parasite P. falciparum. In the last decade, studies on vivax malaria have had a partial step ahead especially after the completion of the whole genome project, but there is still a gap of knowledge in the biology of this parasite. Moreover, the emergence of P. vivax antimalarial resistance in 1980s and its subsequent spread in the Southeast Asia have indicated new concerns about the possibility to control this parasite. P. vivax drug resistance poses a major threat to endemic countries and without important international efforts, we could assist in a near future to the paradox of seeing different malaria co-endemic countries, that have successfully controlled/eliminated P. falciparum, still fighting against P. vivax.
多年来，人们一直认为恶性疟原虫（Plasmodium falciparum）是引起疟疾的主要病原体，而间日疟原虫（Plasmodium vivax）引起的疟疾症状较轻，因为在大多数间日疟原虫感染中，没有该疾病的严重形式。然而，在过去十年中，对间日疟的研究取得了一定的进展，特别是在完成整个基因组项目之后，但对这种寄生虫的生物学特性仍存在知识空白。此外，20 世纪 80 年代间日疟原虫抗疟药物的出现及其随后在东南亚的传播，表明人们对控制这种寄生虫的可能性产生了新的担忧。间日疟原虫耐药性对流行地区构成了重大威胁，如果没有重要的国际努力，我们可能会在不久的将来看到一个悖论，即不同的疟疾流行国家成功控制/消除了恶性疟原虫，但仍在与间日疟原虫作斗争。
