This book is dedicated to recent research advances on malaria which is an infectious disease that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions. It infects between 300 and 500 million people every year and causes between one and three million deaths annually, mostly among young children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is not just a disease commonly associated with poverty, but is also a cause of poverty and a major hindrance to economic development. Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases and an enormous public-health problem. The disease is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium. The most serious forms of the disease are caused by Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, but other related species (Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium malariae) can also infect humans. This group of human-pathogenic Plasmodium species are usually referred to as malaria parasites. Malaria parasites are transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes. The parasites multiply within red blood cells, causing symptoms that include fever, anaemia, chills, flu-like illness, and in severe cases, coma and death. Malaria transmission can be reduced by preventing mosquito bites with mosquito nets and insect repellents or by mosquito control by spraying insecticides inside houses and draining standing water where mosquitoes lay their eggs. One of the most important recent advances in malaria research is the mapping of the Plasmodium falciparum genome. For the next five to ten years, until an effective vaccine is developed, malaria control will largely be dependent on vector control measures such as improvements in housing construction, source reduction, impregnated bed-nets, and residual insecticide treatment.

Table of Contents

Preface; Antimalarial Resistance and Treatment of Malaria in Clinical Practice in Thailand; Immunodiagnosis as New Alternative in Diagnosis of Malaria; Alteration in Basic Laboratory Results in Malaria: A Summary from Thai Cases; Genetic Analysis of Resistance to Malaria in Humans and Mice: Two Compatible Approaches to Identify Potential Resistant Genes; Focus on Malaria Research; Chemotherapeutics Brazilian Plant Species as Sources of Antitubercular and Antimalarial Chemotherapeutics; Urbanisation and the Increasing Risk from Mosquito-borne Diseases: Linking Human Well-Being with Ecosystem Health; U.S. International HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Spending: FY2004-FY2008; Malaria Resistance or Susceptibility in Red Cells Disorders,; Malaria Research in Progress - A listing of relevant periodical literature; Index.