Competition for red blood cells can enhance Plasmodium vivax parasitemia in mixed-species malaria infections.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: McQueen PG
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2483695 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Competition for red blood cells can enhance Plasmodium vivax parasitemia in mixed-species malaria infections.
McQueen Philip G PG McKenzie F Ellis FE
The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 20060701 1
We assess the consequences of competition for red blood cells (RBCs) in co-infections with the two major agents of human malaria, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum, using differential equations to model the population dynamics of RBCs and parasites. P. vivax parasitizes only the youngest RBCs, but this can reduce the broader RBC population susceptible to P. falciparum. We found that competition for RBCs typically causes one species to suppress the other, depending on their relative repr ...[more]
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