Publications

plasmodium knowlesi: a superb in vivo nonhuman primate model of antigenic variation in malaria.	antigenic variation in malaria was discovered in plasmodium knowlesi studies involving longitudinal infections of rhesus macaques (m. mulatta). the variant proteins, known as the p. knowlesi schizont infected cell agglutination (sica) antigens and the p. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (pfemp1) antigens, expressed by the sicavar and var multigene families, respectively, have been studied for over 30 years. expression of the sica antigens in p. knowlesi requires a splenic component, and ...	2017	28712361
evaluation of electric nets as means to sample mosquito vectors host-seeking on humans and primates.	plasmodium knowlesi is found in macaques and is the only major zoonotic malaria to affect humans. transmission of p. knowlesi between people and macaques depends on the host species preferences and feeding behavior of mosquito vectors. however, these behaviours are difficult to measure due to the lack of standardized methods for sampling potential vectors attracted to different host species. this study evaluated electrocuting net traps as a safe, standardised method for sampling p. knowlesi vect ...	2017	28720113
pacbio assembly of a plasmodium knowlesi genome sequence with hi-c correction and manual annotation of the sicavar gene family.	plasmodium knowlesi has risen in importance as a zoonotic parasite that has been causing regular episodes of malaria throughout south east asia. the p. knowlesi genome sequence generated in 2008 highlighted and confirmed many similarities and differences in plasmodium species, including a global view of several multigene families, such as the large sicavar multigene family encoding the variant antigens known as the schizont-infected cell agglutination proteins. however, repetitive dna sequences ...	2017	28720171
a dual colour fluorescence in situ hybridization (fish) assay for identifying the zoonotic malaria parasite plasmodium knowlesi with a potential application for the specific diagnosis of knowlesi malaria in peripheral-level laboratories of southeast asia.	plasmodium knowlesi is primarily responsible for zoonotic malaria in several southeast asian countries. precise identification of the parasite in the blood of patients presently relies on an expensive and elaborate pcr procedure because microscopic examination of blood and other available field identification techniques lack adequate specificity. therefore, the use of a simple and inexpensive dual-colour fluorescence in situ hybridization (fish) assay, analogous to fish assays recently described ...	2017	28724402
individual-level factors associated with the risk of acquiring human plasmodium knowlesi malaria in malaysia: a case-control study.	the emergence of human malaria due to the monkey parasite plasmodium knowlesi threatens elimination efforts in southeast asia. changes in land use are thought to be driving the rise in reported p knowlesi cases, but the role of individual-level factors is unclear. to address this knowledge gap we assessed human and environmental factors associated with zoonotic knowlesi malaria risk.	2017	28758162
over two decades of plasmodium knowlesi infections in sarawak: trend and forecast.	malaria is still of great public health concern, especially in malaysian borneo. the aim of this study was to determine the trends of p. knowlesi infection in sarawak, malaysia and to forecast the incidence of p. knowlesi until the year 2040. data on p. knowlesi malaria cases from 1992 to the year 2014 were obtained from the sarawak health department, malaysia. arima model was applied to forecast the future incidence of p. knowlesi infection. the data for the whole of sarawak and subsequently th ...	2017	28768148
the duffy binding protein (pkdbpαii) of plasmodium knowlesi from peninsular malaysia and malaysian borneo show different binding activity level to human erythrocytes.	the zoonotic plasmodium knowlesi is a major cause of human malaria in malaysia. this parasite uses the duffy binding protein (pkdbpαii) to interact with the duffy antigen receptor for chemokines (darc) receptor on human and macaque erythrocytes to initiate invasion. previous studies on p. knowlesi have reported distinct peninsular malaysia and malaysian borneo pkdbpαii haplotypes. in the present study, the differential binding activity of these haplotypes with human and macaque (macaca fascicula ...	2017	28800732
rapid detection of plasmodium knowlesi by isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification assay.	in this study, we developed a recombinase polymerase amplification (rpa) assay for specific diagnosis of plasmodium knowlesi. genomic dna was extracted from whole blood samples using a commercial kit. with incubation at 37°c, the samples were successfully amplified within 20 minutes. the end product of rpa was further examined by loading onto agarose gel and a specific band was observed with a size of 128 bp. the rpa assay exhibited high sensitivity with limits of detection down to one copy of t ...	2017	28820700