Study of African birds reveals hotbed of malaria parasite diversity

Date:

April 13, 2015

Source:

Drexel University

Summary:

Among hundreds of birds sampled during two months of field work in the southeastern African nation of Malawi, an astonishing proportion of the birds -- 79 percent -- were infected with haemosporidian parasites. Even more surprising, 81 percent of the parasites were previously undocumented lineages. Studying birds and their parasites provides insight into how lifestyle characteristics of birds can influence their association with different parasite genera.

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