Epidemiology and treatment of malaria in Sabah, Malaysia: longitudinal patterns of disease, acquisition risk factors, antimalarial drug resistance, and adjunctive therapy for acute kidney injury

Malaria elimination goals in Southeast Asia are under threat by the spread of drug resistant malaria due to infection with Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax. In addition, an emerging species of malaria from monkeys called P. knowlesi is increasingly infecting humans in Southeast Asia, and can cause severe or fatal disease.

This project aims to understand the patterns of infection in humans due to these types of malaria, and to compare the spectrum of disease in both adults and children as immunity falls to parasites that only infect humans.

A survey of drug resistance markers for P. falciparum and P. vivax will also be conducted.

The project will also evaluate adjunctive therapies such as paracetamol, which may help to reduce severe complications in P. knowlesi malaria such as acute kidney injury.