| Literature DB >> 23720517 |
Hélène M De Nys1, Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer, Ursula Thiesen, Christophe Boesch, Roman M Wittig, Roger Mundry, Fabian H Leendertz.
Abstract
Wild great apes are widely infected with a number of malaria parasites (Plasmodium spp.). Yet, nothing is known about the biology of these infections in the wild. Using faecal samples collected from wild chimpanzees, we investigated the effect of age on Plasmodium spp. detection rates. The data show a strong association between age and malaria parasite positivity, with significantly lower detection rates in adults. This suggests that, as in humans, individuals reaching adulthood have mounted an effective protective immunity against malaria parasites.Entities:
Keywords: Pan troglodytes verus; Plasmodium; malaria parasites; wild great apes
Mesh:
Year: 2013 PMID: 23720517 PMCID: PMC3730613 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2012.1160
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Biol Lett ISSN: 1744-9561 Impact factor: 3.703