Human infection with an ape Plasmodium vivax-like parasite

Whole-genome sequencing of a Swedish traveler’s malaria infection showed it was caused by an ape Plasmodium vivax-like strain, highlighting zoonotic potential.

• Why it matters: The work addresses whether highly divergent ape Plasmodium vivax-like parasites can infect humans, a key gap for assessing zoonotic malaria risk.
• What they did: Researchers performed whole-genome sequencing on the Swedish patient’s parasite isolate and compared it to ape-infecting Plasmodium vivax-like parasites from central Africa.
• The result: The genomic match supports that ape Plasmodium vivax-like parasites can spill over to humans, implying zoonotic transmission is plausible.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.