Acquired Immunity to Malaria

Authors

Denise L. Doolan, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, The Bancroft Centre, 300 Herston Road, Post Office Royal Brisbane Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland 4029, Australia
Carlota Dobaño, Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, Hospital Clínic/IDIBAPS, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
J. Kevin Baird, Eijkman-Oxford Clinical Research Unit, Jalan Diponegoro No. 69, Jakarta, IndonesiaFollow

Date of this Version

2009

Citation

CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS, Vol. 22, No. 1, Jan. 2009, p. 13–36

Comments

Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

Each year malaria infects about one-half billion people, killing 1 million to 2 million and severely dampening economic development (44, 123, 133, 289, 321a, 321b). The parasitic Plasmodium species causing malaria persist and even flourish despite the availability of tools for prevention, control, and treatment. Those tools consist of an array of drugs, diagnostics, and insecticides and a detailed understanding of the breeding site preferences of the many anopheline mosquito vectors. Despite the tremendous strides in biotechnology during the past 5 decades and the application to malaria of the many breakthroughs in molecular biology, genetics, immunology, and vaccinology by talented researchers, useful vaccines of any type evade us. This review examines one factor that may contribute substantially to this failure: inadequate understanding of naturally acquired immunity (NAI).