Ancient Plasmodium genomes shed light on the history of human malaria.

Malaria-causing protozoa of the genus Plasmodium have exerted one of the strongest selective pressures on the human genome, and resistance alleles provide biomolecular footprints that outline the historical reach of these species1. Nevertheless, debate persists over when and how malaria parasites emerged as human pathogens and spread around the globe1,2. To address these questions, we generated high-coverage ancient mitochondrial and nuclear genome-wide data from P. falciparum, P. vivax and P. malariae from 16 countries spanning around 5,500 years of human history. We identified P. vivax and P. falciparum across geographically disparate regions of Eurasia from as early as the fourth and first millennia BCE, respectively; for P. vivax, this evidence pre-dates textual references by several millennia3. Genomic analysis supports distinct disease histories for P. falciparum and P. vivax in the Americas: similarities between now-eliminated European and peri-contact South American strains indicate that European colonizers were the source of American P. vivax, whereas the trans-Atlantic slave trade probably introduced P. falciparum into the Americas. Our data underscore the role of cross-cultural contacts in the dissemination of malaria, laying the biomolecular foundation for future palaeo-epidemiological research into the impact of Plasmodium parasites on human history. Finally, our unexpected discovery of P. falciparum in the high-altitude Himalayas provides a rare case study in which individual mobility can be inferred from infection status, adding to our knowledge of cross-cultural connectivity in the region nearly three millennia ago.

Decreased Mortality of falciparum Malaria in Anemic Prisoners of War?

Modern clinical trials have suggested that anemia protects against malaria mortality. Military records of the Second World War in Asia were examined to see if there was support for this hypothesis. When relatively well-nourished Imperial Japanese Navy sailors captured on Nauru (n = 799) were imprisoned on the Fauro Islands, 26% died from falciparum malaria. Similarly treated but very malnourished colocated Imperial Army soldiers experienced low stable malaria mortality. One-fifth of previously healthy Australian Army soldiers (n = 252) retreating from New Britain died largely because of malaria in April 1942. Malnourished prisoners of war, who were as a group very anemic, both Australian Army soldiers in Thailand and Japanese Army soldiers in Papua New Guinea, had high malaria rates but very low (< 3%) mortality rates. Malaria immunity does not adequately explain this dichotomy, suggesting that severe nutritional deprivation may be protective against malaria mortality possibly because of iron-deficiency anemia.

Resurrection of the ancestral RH5 invasion ligand provides a molecular explanation for the origin of P. falciparum malaria in humans.

Many important infectious diseases are the result of zoonoses, in which pathogens that normally infect animals acquire mutations that enable the breaching of species barriers to permit the infection of humans. Our understanding of the molecular events that enable host switching are often limited, and yet this is a fundamentally important question. Plasmodium falciparum, the etiological agent of severe human malaria, evolved following a zoonotic transfer of parasites from gorillas. One gene-rh5-which encodes an essential ligand for the invasion of host erythrocytes, is suspected to have played a critical role in this host switch. Genome comparisons revealed an introgressed sequence in the ancestor of P. falciparum containing rh5, which likely allowed the ancestral parasites to infect both gorilla and human erythrocytes. To test this hypothesis, we resurrected the ancestral introgressed reticulocyte-binding protein homologue 5 (RH5) sequence and used quantitative protein interaction assays to demonstrate that this ancestral protein could bind the basigin receptor from both humans and gorillas. We also showed that this promiscuous receptor binding phenotype of RH5 was shared with the parasite clade that transferred its genome segment to the ancestor of P. falciparum, while the other lineages exhibit host-specific receptor binding, confirming the central importance of this introgression event for Plasmodium host switching. Finally, since its transfer to humans, P. falciparum, and also the RH5 ligand, have evolved a strong human specificity. We show that this subsequent restriction to humans can be attributed to a single amino acid mutation in the RH5 sequence. Our findings reveal a molecular pathway for the origin and evolution of human P. falciparum malaria and may inform molecular surveillance to predict future zoonoses.

High-Complexity Plasmodium falciparum Infections, North Central Nigeria, 2015-2018.

The mass migration that occurred during 2009-2013 and after the insurgency in northeastern Nigeria could have increased malaria incidence and Plasmodium falciparum genetic diversity in North Central Nigeria. To determine P. falciparum sequence diversity in this region, we screened 282 samples collected in regional clinics during 2015-2018 for Plasmodium spp. and, with positive samples, determined P. falciparum infection complexity and allele diversity using PCR. Of 34 P. falciparum-positive samples, 39 msp1, 31 msp2, and 13 glurp alleles were detected, and 88% of infections were polyclonal. We identified trimorphic and dimorphic allele combinations in a high percentage of samples, indicative of a high infection complexity in the study population. High genetic diversity is a catalyst for the evolution of drug-resistant alleles. Improved measures (e.g., better drug quality, diagnostics) are needed to control P. falciparum transmission and reduce the potential for the emergence of drug resistance in Nigeria.

Tolerance May Be More Appropriate Than Immunity When Describing Chronic Malaria Infections.

Adults who have not grown up in a malaria-endemic area may experience severe malaria soon after entering a malarious area. Such mortality is usually limited to a short period of time (months), after which they are thought to be "immune." Such anti-disease immunity may be more accurately considered as tolerance. Malaria rates of British soldiers during the Second World War reflected their time with suppressed infections and the transmission levels. Black workers from non-endemic areas on the Panama Canal experienced higher initial mortality and infection rates than co-located white workers for Plasmodium falciparum, whereas the known genetic resistance of blacks to Plasmodium vivax reversed these rates. The ethnic differences observed in malaria rates may have more to do with acquired tolerance than genetic resistance. Long-term (years) sub-patent infections may maintain host tolerance, and elimination of malaria infections may place these adults at subsequent risk of severe malaria.

Mathematical modeling of climate change and malaria transmission dynamics: a historical review.

Malaria, one of the greatest historical killers of mankind, continues to claim around half a million lives annually, with almost all deaths occurring in children under the age of five living in tropical Africa. The range of this disease is limited by climate to the warmer regions of the globe, and so anthropogenic global warming (and climate change more broadly) now threatens to alter the geographic area for potential malaria transmission, as both the Plasmodium malaria parasite and Anopheles mosquito vector have highly temperature-dependent lifecycles, while the aquatic immature Anopheles habitats are also strongly dependent upon rainfall and local hydrodynamics. A wide variety of process-based (or mechanistic) mathematical models have thus been proposed for the complex, highly nonlinear weather-driven Anopheles lifecycle and malaria transmission dynamics, but have reached somewhat disparate conclusions as to optimum temperatures for transmission, and the possible effect of increasing temperatures upon (potential) malaria distribution, with some projecting a large increase in the area at risk for malaria, but others predicting primarily a shift in the disease's geographic range. More generally, both global and local environmental changes drove the initial emergence of P. falciparum as a major human pathogen in tropical Africa some 10,000 years ago, and the disease has a long and deep history through the present. It is the goal of this paper to review major aspects of malaria biology, methods for formalizing these into mathematical forms, uncertainties and controversies in proper modeling methodology, and to provide a timeline of some major modeling efforts from the classical works of Sir Ronald Ross and George Macdonald through recent climate-focused modeling studies. Finally, we attempt to place such mathematical work within a broader historical context for the "million-murdering Death" of malaria.

Artemisinin-Resistant Plasmodium falciparum with High Survival Rates, Uganda, 2014-2016.

Because ≈90% of malaria cases occur in Africa, emergence of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum in Africa poses a serious public health threat. To assess emergence of artemisinin-resistant parasites in Uganda during 2014-2016, we used the recently developed ex vivo ring-stage survival assay, which estimates ring-stage-specific P. falciparum susceptibility to artemisinin. We conducted 4 cross-sectional surveys to assess artemisinin sensitivity in Gulu, Uganda. Among 194 isolates, survival rates (ratio of viable drug-exposed parasites to drug-nonexposed controls) were high (>10%) for 4 isolates. Similar rates have been closely associated with delayed parasite clearance after drug treatment and are considered to be a proxy for the artemisinin-resistant phenotype. Of these, the PfKelch13 mutation was observed in only 1 isolate, A675V. Population genetics analysis suggested that these possibly artemisinin-resistant isolates originated in Africa. Large-scale surveillance of possibly artemisinin-resistant parasites in Africa would provide useful information about treatment outcomes and help regional malaria control.

Plasmodium falciparum malaria in 1st-2nd century CE southern Italy.

The historical record attests to the devastation malaria exacted on ancient civilizations, particularly the Roman Empire [1]. However, evidence for the presence of malaria during the Imperial period in Italy (1st-5th century CE) is based on indirect sources, such as historical, epigraphic, or skeletal evidence. Although these sources are crucial for revealing the context of this disease, they cannot establish the causative species of Plasmodium. Importantly, definitive evidence for the presence of malaria is now possible through the implementation of ancient DNA technology. As malaria is presumed to have been at its zenith during the Imperial period [1], we selected first or second molars from 58 adults from three cemeteries from this time: Isola Sacra (associated with Portus Romae, 1st-3rd century CE), Velia (1st-2nd century CE), and Vagnari (1st-4th century CE). We performed hybridization capture using baits designed from the mitochondrial (mtDNA) genomes of Plasmodium spp. on a prioritized subset of 11 adults (informed by metagenomic sequencing). The mtDNA sequences generated provided compelling phylogenetic evidence for the presence of P. falciparum in two individuals. This is the first genomic data directly implicating P. falciparum in Imperial period southern Italy in adults.

Paleopathology and Paleomicrobiology of Malaria.

Malaria is a disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium, transmitted through the bites of female anopheles flies. Plasmodium falciparum causes severe malaria with undulating high fever (malaria tropica). Literary evidence of malarial infection dates back to the early Greek period, when Hippocrates described the typical undulating fever highly suggestive of plasmodial infection. Recent immunological and molecular analyses describe the unambiguous identification of malarial infections in several ancient Egyptian mummies and a few isolated cases in Roman and Renaissance Europe. Although the numbers of cases are low, there is evidence that the overall infection rates may have been relatively high and that this infectious disease may have had a significant impact on historical populations.

Historical review: Does falciparum malaria destroy isolated tribal populations?

Many isolated populations of tribal peoples were nearly destroyed when they first contacted infectious diseases particularly respiratory pathogens such as measles and smallpox. Surviving groups have often been found to have declining populations in the face of multiple social and infectious threats. Malaria, especially Plasmodium falciparum, was thought to be a major cause of depopulation in some tribal peoples isolated in tropical jungles. The dynamics of such host parasite interactions is unclear especially since most such populations would have had long histories of exposure to malaria. Three groups are individually reviewed: Meruts of Borneo, Yanomami of Amazonia, Jarawas of the Andaman Islands. The purpose of this review is to examine the role of falciparum malaria in the depopulation of some isolated tribal groups in order to understand what measures, if any, would be likely to prevent such losses.

Historical Review: Problematic Malaria Prophylaxis with Quinine.

Quinine, a bitter-tasting, short-acting alkaloid drug extracted from cinchona bark, was the first drug used widely for malaria chemoprophylaxis from the 19th century. Compliance was difficult to enforce even in organized groups such as the military, and its prophylaxis potential was often questioned. Severe adverse events such as blackwater fever occurred rarely, but its relationship to quinine remains uncertain. Quinine prophylaxis was often counterproductive from a public health viewpoint as it left large numbers of persons with suppressed infections producing gametocytes infective for mosquitoes. Quinine was supplied by the first global pharmaceutical cartel which discouraged competition resulting in a near monopoly of cinchona plantations on the island of Java which were closed to Allied use when the Japanese Imperial Army captured Indonesia in 1942. The problems with quinine as a chemoprophylactic drug illustrate the difficulties with medications used for prevention and the acute need for improved compounds.

Plasmodium falciparum K76T pfcrt Gene Mutations and Parasite Population Structure, Haiti, 2006-2009.

Hispaniola is the only Caribbean island to which Plasmodium falciparum malaria remains endemic. Resistance to the antimalarial drug chloroquine has rarely been reported in Haiti, which is located on Hispaniola, but the K76T pfcrt (P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter) gene mutation that confers chloroquine resistance has been detected intermittently. We analyzed 901 patient samples collected during 2006-2009 and found 2 samples showed possible mixed parasite infections of genetically chloroquine-resistant and -sensitive parasites. Direct sequencing of the pfcrt resistance locus and single-nucleotide polymorphism barcoding did not definitively identify a resistant population, suggesting that sustained propagation of chloroquine-resistant parasites was not occurring in Haiti during the study period. Comparison of parasites from Haiti with those from Colombia, Panama, and Venezuela reveals a geographically distinct population with highly related parasites. Our findings indicate low genetic diversity in the parasite population and low levels of chloroquine resistance in Haiti, raising the possibility that reported cases may be of exogenous origin.

The sudden death of Alaric I (c. 370-410AD), the vanquisher of Rome: A tale of malaria and lacking immunity.

BACKGROUND: Alaric I (c. 370-410AD), King of the Visigoths, sacked Rome for the second time in over eight centuries of history. Historians suggest that malaria, probably contracted either in Rome or in the Pontine Marshes, was responsible for his sudden death in Cosenza (Calabria) in the autumn of 410AD, where he was allegedly buried in the River Busento. In this article, we aim to examine this hypothesis through a full pathographic reassessment of the most likely cause of Alaric's demise. METHODS: To achieve this, we resorted to a dual philological-medical approach: clinical likelihood and malaria seasonality coupled with primary historical sources (mainly Jordanes' work De origine actibusque Getarum) and the reconstruction of the itineraries followed by Alaric and his army after the sack of Rome. RESULTS: Sudden death is caused by several factors. The possibility that Alaric died of a cardiovascular disease was discarded since no description of potentially pathological signs emerged from the available sources. Given his lack of semi-immunity, falciparum malaria was considered as the most likely cause of his demise. It took him over two months to reach the coasts of Calabria during the peak of malaria's transmission (summer-autumn). During the march, Alaric did not suffer from recurrent fevers or other ailments, which would have been reported by historians. CONCLUSION: The scenario emerging from this multidisciplinary reanalysis allows us to hypothesise that Plasmodium falciparum malaria, contracted during his journey through Calabria, was the most likely candidate responsible for Alaric's unexpected demise.

Molecular Epidemiology of Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Outbreak, Tumbes, Peru, 2010-2012.

During 2010-2012, an outbreak of 210 cases of malaria occurred in Tumbes, in the northern coast of Peru, where no Plasmodium falciparum malaria case had been reported since 2006. To identify the source of the parasite causing this outbreak, we conducted a molecular epidemiology investigation. Microsatellite typing showed an identical genotype in all 54 available isolates. This genotype was also identical to that of parasites isolated in 2010 in the Loreto region of the Peruvian Amazon and closely related to clonet B, a parasite lineage previously reported in the Amazon during 1998-2000. These findings are consistent with travel history of index case-patients. DNA sequencing revealed mutations in the Pfdhfr, Pfdhps, Pfcrt, and Pfmdr1 loci, which are strongly associated with resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine, and deletion of the Pfhrp2 gene. These results highlight the need for timely molecular epidemiology investigations to trace the parasite source during malaria reintroduction events.

Synergistic Mortality Caused by Plasmodium falciparum During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.

At the end of World War I, British medical officers noted that soldiers infected with malaria were more likely to die during the 1918 influenza pandemic than those without malaria. This synergistic mortality appeared to be specific to Plasmodium falciparum and has not been generally noted since 1920. A possible explanation is that a malaria-induced procoagulant state enhanced the activation of influenza virus to increase inflammation and subsequent severe clinical outcomes. Falciparum proteins bind and likely inhibit antithrombin 3 and other factors. Pathogens interact in ways that may inform pathophysiology studies of remote epidemics.

Malaria in the Americas: trends from 1959 to 2011.

Malaria has declined in recent years in countries of the American continents. In 2011, 12 of 21 endemic countries had already met their 2015 Millennium Development Goal. However, this declining trend has not been adequately evaluated. An analysis of the number of cases per 100,000 people (annual parasite index [API]) and the percentage of positive blood slides (slide positivity rate [SPR]) during the period of 1959-2011 in 21 endemic countries was done using the joinpoint regression methodology. During 1960-1979, API and SPR increased significantly and peaked in the 1980s. Since the 1990s, there have been significant declining trends in both API and SPR. Additionally, both Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum species-specific incidence have declined. With the exception of two countries, such a collectively declining malaria trend was not observed in previous decades. This presents a unique opportunity for the Americas to seriously consider malaria elimination as a final goal.

Pequeña historia de una lucha. José Alberto Palanca Martínez-Fortún / No disponible

El Paludismo llegó a afectar en España a más de 420.000 personas en el año 1943. José Alberto Palanca MartínezFortún relata en este artículo las causas de la expansión de esta epidemia, explicando cómo se desarrolló la lucha contra esta enfermedad durante el periodo en que él fue director general de Sanidad desde el año 1939 hasta 1957. A lo largo del texto, el autor detalla muchos de los factores y anécdotas curiosas que influyeron y contribuyeron positivamente al control de esta epidemia tan importante que afectó a España y supuso una morbi-mortalidad tan grande en el país

Malaria in Spain came to affect more than 420,000 people in year 1943. José Alberto Palanca Martínez-Fortún narrates the causes of the spread of the plague in this article, explaining how the fight against the disease was developed during the period when he was Health general director, between years 1939 and 1957. Throughout the text the author provides details on many of the factors and curious anecdotes that influenced and contributed positively to the control of this important plague that affected Spain and resulted in huge morbidity and mortality all over the country