Infections with two types of malaria parasite pose greater health risks as one species helps the other to thrive, a new study has found.
Researchers from University of Edinburgh in the UK and University of Toronto in Canada sought to understand what happens when the two most common malaria parasites cause infection at the same time, as they are known to attack the body in different ways.
They found that one type of parasite leads to the second species being provided with more of the resources it needs to prosper.
In people, a parasite known as P falciparum infects red blood cells of all ages, while another - P vivax - attacks only young red blood cells, researchers said.
The study in mice with equivalent malaria parasites showed that the body's response to the first infection produces more of the type of red blood cell that the second parasite needs.
In response to the first infection, millions of red blood cells are destroyed. The body responds by replenishing these cells, researchers said.
These fresh cells quickly become infected by the second type of parasite, making the infection worse, they said.
The finding could explain why infections with both P falciparum and P vivax in people often have worse outcomes for patients than single infections, researchers said.
The findings were published in the journal Ecology Letters.
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Mandawli lies in east Delhi while Safdarjung Hospital, where Praveen died, falls in an area under the jurisdiction of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, which is the nodal agency for compiling report on vector-borne disease cases in the national capital.
East Delhi Mayor Satya Sharma said, "no death has occurred previously in our area due to malaria. This is the first person, belonging to east Delhi, who has died of malaria."
A source in the municipal corporations also acknowledged the fatality, and said, "this should be the first death due to malaria this year."
The city is already grappling rising cases of dengue and chikungunya transmitted by aedes agypti mosquito, while malaria is transmitted among humans by female anopheles mosquitoes.
Also, according to a municipal report released yesterday, at least 771 dengue cases were reported till September 3, marking a rise of nearly 60 per cent from the count last week, while chikungunya cases have risen to 560.
