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Department of Pathology

 

 James Gathany, CDCThe most deadly species of malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, manufacture molecules called PfEMP1 that make parasites stick to blood vessel linings in the brain and other organs. Very similar molecules have now been discovered (see here) in malaria parasites that infect chimpanzees and gorillas. This suggests that the kind of brain pathology we find in humans with severe malaria has its roots in an extremely ancient host-parasite interaction.