PLASMODIUM SPECIES OF HUMAN INTEREST
| Plasmodium falciparum (Welch, 1897)
| Plasmodium vivax (Grassi e Feletti, 1890)
| Plasmodium malariae (Laveran, 1881)
| Plasmodium ovale (Stephens, 1922)
ANIMAL PLASMODIA
Other species of plasmodium exist in nature as parasites of monkeys [2][17][22], birds, reptiles and several mammals. Many species of plasmodia causing malaria in monkeys are closely related to the human parasites and several of these, P. simium, P. brasilianum, P. cynomolgi, P. inui and P. knowlesi, may cause symptomatic malaria infections in humans as well, induced by experimental, accidental or natural causes [33]. The correct identification of primate malarias in humans is difficult and usually achieved only by experienced malariologists; the introduction of molecular biology techniques has helped in the confirmation of human infections by primate species of malaria [35][75].