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Published on: October 6, 2015
Age-related effects on malaria parasite infection in wild chimpanzees
Hélène M De Nys1, Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer, Ursula Thiesen
1Project Group Epidemiology of Highly Pathogenic Microorganisms, Robert Koch-Institut, Berlin, Germany.
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.

