The Blood-stage Dynamics of Mixed Plasmodium malariae–Plasmodium falciparum Infections

✍ Scribed by Daniel P Mason; F.Ellis McKenzie; William H Bossert

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 359 KB
• Volume: 198
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-5193
• DOI: 10.1006/jtbi.1999.0932

✦ Synopsis

We present the "rst mathematical model of the within-host dynamics of a mixed-species malaria infection in a human: the blood-stage population dynamics of a dual infection with Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium falciparum. Our results reproduce several important features of such infections in nature, including the asymmetry of species asexual-form densities, inter-speci"c suppression through interactions with the human immune system, and seasonal alternations in species prevalence. Most importantly, our results suggest that an existing P. malariae infection can reduce the peak parasitemia of a subsequent P. falciparum superinfection by as much as 50%. This result integrates numerous empirical observations and supports the hypothesis that clinical outcomes of P. falciparum infections may be in#uenced by the presence of a congener.