In this opinion paper, we discuss the potential and challenges of using the symbiont Wolbachia to block mosquito transmitted diseases such as dengue, malaria and chikungunya in Latin America.

PLoS Biology | http://biology.plosjournals.org The protozoan parasite Plasmodium falciparum causes falciparum malaria, a fatal parasitic disease in humans, and is transmitted by Anopheles mosquito vectors (predominantly the Anopheles gambiae complex and An. funestus in Africa). There are about 300 million malaria cases and 1–2 million deaths annually, the brunt of which are borne mostly in Afri...

1. Krajden S, Panisko DM, Tobe B, Yang J, Keystone JS. Prolonged infection with Plasmodium falciparum in a semiimmune patient. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1991;85:731–2. DOI: 10.1016/00359203(91)90434-Z 2. D’Ortenzio E, Godineau N, Fontanet A, Houze S, Bouchaud O, Matheron S, et al. Prolonged Plasmodium falciparum infection in immigrants, Paris. Emerg Infect Dis. 2008;14:323–6. DOI: 10.3201/ eid1...

Transfusion-transmitted malaria (TTM) in neonates is rare. TTM can occur in both endemic and nonendemic areas because the current tests used to screen the donor blood for malaria are unreliable when there is low parasitemia. Malaria must be considered as an important differential diagnosis for neonatal sepsis after exchange transfusion. Management strategy in TTM in the neonatal period is not s...

Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted to humans by infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Early and accurate diagnosis crucial reduce the high mortality rate of disease, especially in eastern Indonesia, where limited health facilities resources contribute effortless spread disease. In rural areas, lack trained parasitologists presents significant challenge. To address this ...

Although the major diseases transmitted by transfusion today are AIDS and hepatitis, many others also are known. These include CMV, syphilis, Chagas disease, babesiosis, parvovirus B19, malaria, Epstein-Barr infection, and many others that have been reported only once or twice. Reducing the risk of transfusion-transmitted diseases is a problem for donor centers where donor screening and laborat...

Syphilis is a well-known sexually transmitted disease found around the world. Malaria and syphilis are endemic in many regions of the world, and co-infection with the two pathogens is common. Here, the author used a new pathway ontology technology to predict the pathway of CD4+ suppression in an episode of co-infection. Of interest, the author found that there are some immune suppression proces...

BACKGROUND Odyssean malaria refers to malaria transmitted by translocated mosquitoes and is a diagnosis of exclusion, as the probability of finding the responsible vector is miniscule. We believe that road traffic from endemic areas in and around South Africa is the source of most of the infected mosquitoes. Because of the unexpected nature of the disease, diagnosis is often delayed and severe ...

The first symptoms of malaria, common to all the different malaria species, are nonspecific and mimic a flu-like syndrome. Although fever represents the cardinal feature, clinical findings in malaria are extremely diverse and may range in severity from mil complications leading to death, particularly in falciparum malaria. As the progression to these complications can be rapid, any malaria pati...

Among the most prevalent diseases caused by protozoan parasites, parasites of genus Plasmodium cause malaria. Malaria is transmitted to humans infected female anopheles mosquito. a vector-borne disease and it continues have devastating effects on people’s lives, especially in developing countries. To control malaria, many popular practices exist avoid nuisance mosquito bites such as fumigation,...