ABSTRACT
Malaria is a devastating disease that affects extensive areas of Africa, Asia and South and Central America, causing up to 2.7 million deaths per year, mainly children under the age of five. The disease is caused by a protozoan parasite from the genus Plasmodium and transmitted through the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. The hepatic stage of a Plasmodium infection constitutes an appealing target for the development of an intervention strategy since this would act before the onset of pathology, which only occurs during the blood stage of the parasite’s life cycle. The erythrocytic stage of Plasmodium’s life cycle corresponds to the symptomatic phase of a malaria infection. During this phase, Plasmodium merozoites invade red blood cells (RBCs), and degrade haemoglobin, releasing heme that is converted into haemozoin. The invading merozoites multiply in the RBCs and, upon rupturing the erythrocytic membrane, are eventually released into the blood where they target new RBCs.
