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Editor's Choice: World Malaria Day 2021

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease that kills more than one million people each year. Over the past two decades, historic progress has been made in malaria treatment and prevention measures, saving more than 7 million lives and preventing over 1 billion malaria cases. Yet, malaria is still present in over 100 countries worldwide and half of the world’s population is at risk of infection.

Each year on 25th April marks the internationally recognised World Malaria Day, highlighting the global efforts to control malaria and celebrating the gains that we have made that gets us closer to a malaria-free world.

The Editors of BMC Medicine are delighted to share with you a selection of key papers that highlight some of the best malaria research published in the journal to mark the world malaria day.

World Malaria Day

  1. Malaria and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDoP) affect millions of pregnancies worldwide, particularly those of young, first-time mothers. Small case-control studies suggest a positive association betwe...

    Authors: Whitney E. Harrington, Kerryn A. Moore, Aung Myat Min, Mary Ellen Gilder, Nay Win Tun, Moo Kho Paw, Jacher Wiladphaingern, Stephane Proux, Kesinee Chotivanich, Marcus J. Rijken, Nicholas J. White, François Nosten and Rose McGready
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2021 19:98
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  2. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in millions of infections, hundreds of thousands of deaths and major societal disruption due to lockdowns and other restrictions introduced to limit disease spread. Relativel...

    Authors: Stephen J. Rogerson, James G. Beeson, Moses Laman, Jeanne Rini Poespoprodjo, Timothy William, Julie A. Simpson and Ric N. Price
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2020 18:239
    Content type: Opinion Published on:

  4. An acute episode of malaria can be followed by multiple recurrent episodes either due to re-infection, recrudescence of a partially treated parasite or, in the case of Plasmodium vivax or P. ovale, relapse from t...

    Authors: Saber Dini, Nicholas M. Douglas, Jeanne Rini Poespoprodjo, Enny Kenangalem, Paulus Sugiarto, Ian D. Plumb, Ric N. Price and Julie A. Simpson
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2020 18:28
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  5. Many malaria-endemic areas experience seasonal fluctuations in case incidence as Anopheles mosquito and Plasmodium parasite life cycles respond to changing environmental conditions. Identifying location-specific ...

    Authors: Michele Nguyen, Rosalind E. Howes, Tim C.D. Lucas, Katherine E. Battle, Ewan Cameron, Harry S. Gibson, Jennifer Rozier, Suzanne Keddie, Emma Collins, Rohan Arambepola, Su Yun Kang, Chantal Hendriks, Anita Nandi, Susan F. Rumisha, Samir Bhatt, Sedera A. Mioramalala…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2020 18:26
    Content type: Research Article Published on:

  6. In endemic areas, pregnant women are highly susceptible to Plasmodium falciparum malaria characterized by the accumulation of parasitized red blood cells (pRBC) in the placenta. In subsequent pregnancies, women d...

    Authors: Julia C. Cutts, Paul A. Agius, Zaw Lin, Rosanna Powell, Kerryn Moore, Bridget Draper, Julie A. Simpson and Freya J. I. Fowkes
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2020 18:14
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  7. Vaccination and naturally acquired immunity against microbial pathogens may have complex interactions that influence disease outcomes. To date, only vaccine-specific immune responses have routinely been invest...

    Authors: Carlota Dobaño, Itziar Ubillos, Chenjerai Jairoce, Ben Gyan, Marta Vidal, Alfons Jiménez, Rebeca Santano, David Dosoo, Augusto J. Nhabomba, Aintzane Ayestaran, Ruth Aguilar, Nana Aba Williams, Núria Díez-Padrisa, David Lanar, Virander Chauhan, Chetan Chitnis…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2019 17:157
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  8. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a recognized complication of pediatric severe malaria, but its long-term consequences are unknown.

    Authors: Andrea L. Conroy, Robert O. Opoka, Paul Bangirana, Richard Idro, John M. Ssenkusu, Dibyadyuti Datta, James S. Hodges, Catherine Morgan and Chandy C. John
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2019 17:98
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  9. There are over 200 million reported cases of malaria each year, and most children living in endemic areas will experience multiple episodes of clinical disease before puberty. We set out to understand how freq...

    Authors: Yaw Bediako, Rhys Adams, Adam J. Reid, John Joseph Valletta, Francis M. Ndungu, Jan Sodenkamp, Jedidah Mwacharo, Joyce Mwongeli Ngoi, Domtila Kimani, Oscar Kai, Juliana Wambua, George Nyangweso, Etienne P. de Villiers, Mandy Sanders, Magda Ewa Lotkowska, Jing-Wen Lin…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2019 17:60
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  10. Leading malaria vaccine, RTS,S, is based on the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) of sporozoites. RTS,S confers partial protection against malaria in children, but efficacy wanes relatively quickly after primary ...

    Authors: Liriye Kurtovic, Paul A. Agius, Gaoqian Feng, Damien R. Drew, Itziar Ubillos, Jahit Sacarlal, John J. Aponte, Freya J. I. Fowkes, Carlota Dobaño and James G. Beeson
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2019 17:45
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  11. Substantial global progress in the control of malaria in recent years has led to increased commitment to its potential elimination. Whether this is possible in high transmission areas of sub-Saharan Africa rem...

    Authors: A. Björkman, D. Shakely, A. S. Ali, U. Morris, H. Mkali, A. K. Abbas, A-W Al-Mafazy, K. A. Haji, J. Mcha, R. Omar, J. Cook, K. Elfving, M. Petzold, M. C. Sachs, B. Aydin-Schmidt, C. Drakeley…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2019 17:14
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  12. The RTS,S/AS01E vaccine provides partial protection against malaria in African children, but immune responses have only been partially characterized and do not reliably predict protective efficacy. We aimed to...

    Authors: Itziar Ubillos, Aintzane Ayestaran, Augusto J Nhabomba, David Dosoo, Marta Vidal, Alfons Jiménez, Chenjerai Jairoce, Hèctor Sanz, Ruth Aguilar, Nana Aba Williams, Núria Díez-Padrisa, Maximilian Mpina, Hermann Sorgho, Selidji Todagbe Agnandji, Simon Kariuki, Benjamin Mordmüller…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2018 16:197
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  13. Recent global progress in scaling up malaria control interventions has revived the goal of complete elimination in many countries. Decreasing transmission intensity generally leads to increasingly patchy spati...

    Authors: Amy Wesolowski, Aimee R Taylor, Hsiao-Han Chang, Robert Verity, Sofonias Tessema, Jeffrey A Bailey, T Alex Perkins, Daniel E Neafsey, Bryan Greenhouse and Caroline O Buckee
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2018 16:190
    Content type: Opinion Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in BMC Medicine 2018 16:241

  14. Antibodies targeting Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites play a key role in human immunity to malaria. However, antibody mechanisms that neutralize sporozoites are poorly understood. This has been a major constrain...

    Authors: Liriye Kurtovic, Marije C. Behet, Gaoqian Feng, Linda Reiling, Kiprotich Chelimo, Arlene E. Dent, Ivo Mueller, James W. Kazura, Robert W. Sauerwein, Freya J. I. Fowkes and James G. Beeson
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2018 16:61
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  15. Methylene blue (MB) was the first synthetic antimalarial to be discovered and was used during the late 19th and early 20th centuries against all types of malaria. MB has been shown to be effective in inhibiting P...

    Authors: G. Lu, M. Nagbanshi, N. Goldau, M. Mendes Jorge, P. Meissner, A. Jahn, F. P. Mockenhaupt and O. Müller
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2018 16:59
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  16. Expression of group A and the A-like subset of group B Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) is associated with severe malaria (SM). The diversity of var sequences combined with the challe...

    Authors: Estela Shabani, Benjamin Hanisch, Robert O. Opoka, Thomas Lavstsen and Chandy C. John
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:183
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  17. The clinical development of a single encounter treatment for uncomplicated malaria has the potential to significantly improve the effectiveness of antimalarials. Exploratory data suggested that the combination...

    Authors: Fiona Macintyre, Yeka Adoke, Alfred B. Tiono, Tran Thanh Duong, Ghyslain Mombo-Ngoma, Marielle Bouyou-Akotet, Halidou Tinto, Quique Bassat, Saadou Issifou, Marc Adamy, Helen Demarest, Stephan Duparc, Didier Leroy, Bart E. Laurijssens, Sophie Biguenet, Afizi Kibuuka…
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:181
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  18. The criteria for defining severe malaria have evolved over the last 20 years. We aimed to assess the strength of association of death with features currently characterizing severe malaria through a systematic ...

    Authors: Paulina Sypniewska, Jose F. Duda, Isabella Locatelli, Clotilde Rambaud Althaus, Fabrice Althaus and Blaise Genton
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:147
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  19. Most evidence on the association between malaria in pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes focuses on falciparum malaria detected at birth. We assessed the association between the number and timing of falcip...

    Authors: Kerryn A. Moore, Julie A. Simpson, Jacher Wiladphaingern, Aung Myat Min, Mupawjay Pimanpanarak, Moo Kho Paw, Jathee Raksuansak, Sasithon Pukrittayakamee, Freya J. I. Fowkes, Nicholas J. White, François Nosten and Rose McGready
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:117
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  20. γδ T cells are important for both protective immunity and immunopathogenesis during malaria infection. However, the immunological processes determining beneficial or detrimental effects on disease outcome rema...

    Authors: Louis Schofield, Lisa J. Ioannidis, Stephan Karl, Leanne J. Robinson, Qiao Y. Tan, Daniel P. Poole, Inoni Betuela, Danika L. Hill, Peter M. Siba, Diana S. Hansen, Ivo Mueller and Emily M. Eriksson
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:114
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  21. Malaria in pregnancy is preventable and contributes significantly to the estimated 5.5 million stillbirths and neonatal deaths that occur annually. The contribution of malaria in pregnancy in areas of low tran...

    Authors: Kerryn A. Moore, Freya J. I. Fowkes, Jacher Wiladphaingern, Nan San Wai, Moo Kho Paw, Mupawjay Pimanpanarak, Verena I. Carrara, Jathee Raksuansak, Julie A. Simpson, Nicholas J. White, François Nosten and Rose McGready
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:98
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  22. Placental Plasmodium falciparum malaria can trigger intervillositis, a local inflammatory response more strongly associated with low birthweight than placental malaria infection alone. Fetal growth (and therefore...

    Authors: Kris Genelyn Dimasuay, Elizabeth H. Aitken, Fredrick Rosario, Madi Njie, Jocelyn Glazier, Stephen J. Rogerson, Freya J. I. Fowkes, James G. Beeson, Theresa Powell, Thomas Jansson and Philippe Boeuf
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2017 15:1
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  23. The polymorphic nature of many malaria vaccine candidates presents major challenges to achieving highly efficacious vaccines. Presently, there is very little knowledge on the prevalence and patterns of functio...

    Authors: Damien R. Drew, Danny W. Wilson, Salenna R. Elliott, Nadia Cross, Ulrich Terheggen, Anthony N. Hodder, Peter M. Siba, Kiprotich Chelimo, Arlene E. Dent, James W. Kazura, Ivo Mueller and James G. Beeson
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:144
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  24. In low-resource settings, malaria and macronutrient undernutrition are major health problems in pregnancy, contributing significantly to adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm birth and fetal growth restri...

    Authors: Holger W. Unger, Per Ashorn, Jordan E. Cates, Kathryn G. Dewey and Stephen J. Rogerson
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:142
    Content type: Opinion Published on:

  25. Gametocytes are responsible for transmission of malaria from human to mosquito. Artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) reduces post-treatment gametocyte carriage, dependent upon host, parasite and pharmacodynam...

    Authors:
    Citation: BMC Medicine 2016 14:79
    Content type: Research article Published on: