Incidence of malaria-causing Plasmodium vivex worldwide. Red indicates local infection rates greater than 7 percent; Light blue: one percent. More about map here.
When most people think of malaria, they usually think of its most deadly variety, caused by the parasite
the form most prevalent in Africa. But it's not the only one: a second type, Plasmodium vivax, is a growing and overlooked disease in Southeast Asia and elsewhere in the world. More resources may need to be devoted to halt it's spread, say researchers who presented the first comprehensive map of the disease's worldwide prevalence Tuesday at the ongoing annual meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
in Philadelphia. Currently 97 percent of malaria-eradication funds are focused on P. falciparum, Oxford University researcher Peter Gething tells Nature News
. But Plasmodium vivax
may cause as many as 40 percent of the 400 million cases ...
