[News Focus] Malaria as Lifesaving Therapy

Science 8 November 2013:
Vol. 342 no. 6159 p. 686
DOI: 10.1126/science.342.6159.686 Vivax malaria was once familiar to doctors not only as a foe, but also as an ally. In the first half of the 20th century, it was used to treat tens of thousands of patients suffering from end-stage syphilis, who were otherwise doomed to a gruesome death. The treatment, seen as a miracle cure, did allow many to recover, and its discoverer won a Nobel Prize.

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[News Focus] The Forgotten Malaria

Science 8 November 2013:
Vol. 342 no. 6159 pp. 684-687
DOI: 10.1126/science.342.6159.684 Malaria caused by the parasite Plasmodium vivax has long been an afterthought in both public health plans and in research funding. One of the five Plasmodium species that cause malaria in humans, P. vivax is often overshadowed by its more lethal cousin, P. falciparum. Now, new recognition of the severe disease that P. vivax can cause and its ability to elude many of the standard malaria control measures have prompted researchers and policymakers to give the parasite new attention. The parasite has a number of tricks, however, that make it a formidable foe.

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