Abstract:
Approximately 30 million years ago in the Palaeogene period, first fossil evidence of malaria parasites in the mosquitoes preserved in Dominican amber was found (Figure1.1) (Poinar, 2005). Malaria parasites have diverse host lineages which include primates, rodents, birds and reptiles (Joy et al., 2003; Hayakawa et al., 2008). During World War II (1939-1945), about 500,000 men of U.S.troops were infected with malaria in the South Pacific (Bray, 2004) and was considered as an important health hazard. The parasite resistance to many anti-malarial drugs has further complicated its treatment and eradication. Human malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax most likely originated in Africa from gorillas and chimpanzees (Liu et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2014). Other malaria parasite species P.knowlesi originated in Asian macaque monkey, can infect humans (Lee et al., 2011). P.malariae is highly host specific and infects only humans as natural host and originated in great apes (Hayakawa et al., 2009).
