Gradual acquisition of immunity to severe malaria with increasing exposure.

ABSTRACT: Previous analyses have suggested that immunity to non-cerebral severe malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum is acquired after only a few infections, whereas longitudinal studies show that some children experience multiple episodes of severe disease, suggesting that immunity may not be acquired so quickly. We fitted a mathematical model for the acquisition and loss of immunity to severe disease to the age distribution of severe malaria cases stratified by symptoms from a range of transmission settings in Tanzania, combined with data from several African countries on the age distribution and overall incidence of severe malaria. We found that immunity to severe disease was acquired more gradually with exposure than previously thought. The model also suggests that physiological changes, rather

SUBMITTER: Griffin JT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4309004 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature