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Worms and malaria: blind men feeling the elephant?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2008

M. NACHER
M. NACHER*
Affiliation:
Equipe EA 3593: Epidémiologie des Parasitoses et Mycoses tropicales, Université Antilles Guyane, Campus Saint Denis & Centre d'Investigations Cliniques Epidémiologie Clinique Antilles Guyane, Cayenne, 97300 Cayenne, French Guiana
*
*Tel: (594)594 39 50 24. Fax: (594) 594 39 50 02. E-mail: mathieu.nacher@ch-cayenne.fr
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Summary

For thousands of years the deadliest human parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, has been evolving in populations also infected by the most prevalent parasites, worms. This is likely to have shaped the genome of all 3 protagonists – man, worms and malaria. Observational studies in Thailand have shown that although P. falciparum malaria incidence increased two-fold in helminth-infected patients, there was a 64% reduction of cerebral malaria and an 84% reduction of acute renal failure in helminth-infected patients relative to those without helminths. In addition, it was suggested that mixed infections, anaemia and gametocyte carriage were more frequent in helminth-infected patients. On the contrary, fever was lower in helminth-infected patients. The present hypotheses, their implications and the limitations of the results described and of those from studies in Africa are discussed.

Keywords

Wormsmalariaco-infectionimmunomodulation
Type
Original Articles
Information
Parasitology , Volume 135 , Special Issue 7: Parasitic co-infections: challenges and solutions , June 2008 , pp. 861 - 868
Copyright
Copyright © 2008 Cambridge University Press

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