Defying malaria: Fathoming severe Plasmodium vivax disease

The pathogen causing malaria, Plasmodium, is a perfect escapist that causes millions of infections and deaths—mostly in endemic areas plagued with poverty and lack of resources. Efforts in developing vaccines against the parasite focus on several immunological strategies, but they still fail to control it. In 'Bedside to Bench', Pedro Alonso and Quique Bassat examine recent observational studies where Plasmodium vivax was associated with severe malaria—usually linked to Plasmodium falciparum—in non-African endemic areas. Understanding what factors add to this morbidity and how this species severely sickens children and adults may help pave the way to eradicate malaria worldwide. In 'Bench to Bedside', Michael Good and Christian Engwerda discuss how a CD8⁺ T cell–mediated strategy may be useful in a vaccine to tackle the blood-stage parasite. Stimulation of these immune cells with the correct vaccination approach could open new doors to prevent disease in people infected with malaria.