title: On the pathogenesis of Plasmodium vivax malaria: perspectives from the Brazilian field.
abstract: Life-threatening Plasmodium vivax malaria cases, while uncommon, have been reported since the early 20th century. Unfortunately, the pathogenesis of these severe vivax malaria cases is still poorly understood. In Brazil, the proportion of vivax malaria cases has been steadily increasing, as have the number of cases presenting serious clinical complications. The most frequent syndromes associated with severe vivax malaria in Brazil are severe anaemia and acute respiratory distress. Additionally, P. vivax infection may also result in complications associated with pregnancy. Here, we review the latest findings on severe vivax malaria in Brazil. We also discuss how the development of targeted field research infrastructure in Brazil is providing clinical and ex vivo experimental data that benefits local and international efforts to understand the pathogenesis of P. vivax.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética, Evolução e Bioagentes, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, SP, Brazil. costaftm@unicamp.br
authors.forename: Fabio T M
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Stefanie C P
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: Letusa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Albrecht
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ataíde
authors.forename: André M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Siqueira
authors.forename: Rodrigo M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Renia
authors.forename: Claudio R F
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Marinho
authors.forename: Marcus V G
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Lacerda
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016780:Malaria, Vivax / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology*; D010966:Plasmodium vivax / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D014330:Tropical Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration