ABSTRACT
Malaria is a disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium. The life cycle of the parasite occurs within a mosquito vector, Anopheles, and a vertebrate host (reviewed in Bannister and Mitchell 2003). A plethora of malaria species that infect a wide range of vertebrates such as birds (P. cathemerium), lizards (around 100 species), murines (P. berghei, P. chabaudi, P. yoelii), monkeys (P. brasilianum, P. cynomolgi), and humans (P. falciparum, P. vivax) exist. In humans, the burden of malaria is devastating with an estimate of 655,000 deaths in 2010, according to the World Health Organization.
