KOTA KINABALU: Scientists are highlighting the increasing public health threat of “Monkey Malaria”, driven by close contact between human settlements, monkey populations, and mosquito vectors in forested areas.
The issue was the focus of a recent research sharing session at the Forest Research Centre (FRC) Sepilok in Sandakan, featuring Associate Professor Dr. Kimberly Fornace from the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Dr. Fornace was accompanied by her local research counterpart, Addy Samsudin, from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).
The researchers detailed that the primary concern is zoonotic malaria, caused by the Plasmodium Knowlesi parasite. Unlike other forms of human malaria, this parasite originates in monkeys.
The transmission cycle begins when an Anopheles mosquito bites an infected monkey, acquiring the parasite. The same mosquito can then transmit the parasite to humans through a subsequent bite.
“This is a growing public health issue, particularly in forested regions like Sabah, where human settlements are in close proximity to macaque populations and the mosquito vectors,“ Dr. Fornace explained during her presentation.
Following the presentation, Dr. Fornace and Addy visited the Entomology Section of the FRC , underscoring the collaborative nature of the research.
Plasmodium Knowlesi is known to cause severe and rapidly progressing illness in humans. Initial symptoms are similar to other types of malaria and can include fever, chills, sweating, headache, body aches, nausea, and vomiting.
Scientifically known as Plasmodium knowlesi malaria, this zoonotic disease has become the most common form of malaria in many parts of Southeast Asia, including Malaysian Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak).