Malaria-related anaemia: a Latin American perspective

Abstract

Malaria is the most important parasitic disease worldwide, responsible for an estimated 225 million clinical cases each year. It mainly affects children, pregnant women and non-immune adults who frequently die victims of cerebral manifestations and anaemia. Although the contribution of the American continent to the global malaria burden is only around 1.2 million clinical cases annually, there are 170 million inhabitants living at risk of malaria transmission in this region. On the African continent, where Plasmodium falciparum is the most prevalent human malaria parasite, anaemia is responsible for about half of the malaria-related deaths. Conversely, in Latin America (LA), malaria-related anaemia appears to be uncommon, though there is a limited knowledge about its real prevalence. This may be partially explained by several factors, including that the overall malaria burden in LA is significantly lower than that of Africa, that Plasmodium vivax, the predominant Plasmodium species in the region, appears to display a different clinical spectrus and most likely because better health services in LA prevent the development of severe malaria cases. With the aim of contributing to the understanding of the real importance of malaria-related anaemia in LA, we discuss here a revision of the available literature on the subject and the usefulness of experimental animal models, including New World monkeys, particularly for the study of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of malaria.

Enhanced T cell activation in Plasmodium falciparum malaria-infected human immunodeficiency virus-1 patients from Mozambique

“…Anaemia is a major symptom of malaria and can be caused by several mechanisms, including the destruction of infected erythrocytes, antibody-mediated lysis, hypersplenism, impaired erythropoiesis and cytokines (Idemyor et al 2007, Haldar & Mohandas 2009, Quintero et al 2011. In a previous study, 10% of adults with severe malaria had Hg levels of 7 g/dL or less, which is much lower than expected for a healthy individual (WHO 2000).…”

Unstable Malaria Transmission in the Southern Peruvian Amazon and Its Association with Gold Mining, Madre de Dios, 2001–2012

“…4 It is a persistent public health problem in Latin America, 5,6 where the predominant etiologic agent is Plasmodium vivax (80%), 6 a traditionally neglected, yet potentially severe pathogen, which has a unique ability to relapse. 7,8 The vast majority of cases in Latin America are concentrated in the Amazon region (90%).…”

Malaria-Related Anemia in Patients from Unstable Transmission Areas in Colombia

“…[13][14][15][27][28][29] In contrast, limited information is available about the prevalence of malarial anemia in areas of low-malaria transmission intensity, like LA, where P. vivax is the predominant parasite species 30 and conditions for early diagnosis and prompt treatment are more favorable. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of malaria-related anemia and its relationships with RBC indices and independent variables in endemic areas of Colombia with different transmission intensities.…”